Nanako Dojima

Nanako Dojima is a character from Persona 4. She is the daughter of Ryotaro Dojima, and the protagonist's cousin.

Appearance

 * Persona 4: Justice Arcana Social Link
 * Persona 4 Manga: Supporting Character
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Supporting Character/Justice Arcana
 * Persona 4 Golden: Justice Arcana Social Link
 * Persona 4 Arena: Supporting Character

Design
Nanako is a little girl with brown hair, short pigtails and brown eyes. Normally, she is seen wearing a white turtleneck dress in pink and two shade of red, white socks and pink shoes. In summer, however, she wears a light pink dress. Along with the rest of the girls, Nanako sports a kimono at the summer festival.

Despite never being seen without them in Persona 4, Persona 4 The Animation depicts Nanako with her hair down while sleeping, and also revealed that she had her hair shoulder length.

In the new true ending in Persona 4 Golden she is shown with her hair out

Personality
Nanako is a mature and kind person for someone her age. She has cooked for her family ever since her mother passed away. She loves to go to Junes. She tends to be shy around strangers. As she develops more trust in her older cousin, she calls him "Big Brother"/"onii-chan" as if he really was her older brother.

Persona 4

 * Age: 6 (7 at end)
 * Date of Birth: October 4th, 2004
 * Zodiac: Libra
 * Height: 122 cm
 * Weight: 21kg
 * Blood Type: O
 * Arcana: Justice
 * Status: Determined by player



Nanako lives with her father Ryotaro, a detective in Inaba, at the Dojima Residence. Her mother passed away when she was young, and thus all the household chores fall to her, but despite her age she does an admirable job managing the cooking and cleaning after school. Nanako can usually be found in the living room watching television, and is especially absorbed in quiz shows. Nanako is a big fan of the Junes Department Store, singing along with the jingle every time a commercial airs. When Ryotaro suggests they go on an outing, Nanako suggests they all go to Junes, instead of taking a vacation. Nanako represents the Justice Arcana Social Link, which she creates with the Protagonist should his 'Expression' characteristics reach a sufficient level. As the Protagonist interacts with her, he helps Nanako understand her father, and helps to mend their strained and distant relationship.

Nanako appeared to be a very cute girl, that most of the characters other than Daisuke compliment her cuteness. She's very matured and independent for her age, which Dojima noted to resemble Chisato a lot. She resembled her mother in both personality and appearance. Nanako distanced herself with the protagonist at first, but she grew much closer to him as the Protagonist levels up her Social Link. When the Social Link is maxed, she would tell him that she loves him when the he chooses to talk to her. Nanako is a big fan of Rise Kujikawa, and she noted that she liked both Rise and the fake "Risette", she just like her as a person. Many characters has been inspired by her personality, and all of them shown a great sorrow and regret for not being able to prevent her from being kidnapped by Namatame. Nanako could prepare breakfast, but she usually bought the dinner. She loved her father a lot, although she sometimes questioned his love to her and her mother.

Late in the game, a political figure visits Yasoinaba. While there, he visits Nanako's school, where he questions the students about their worries and the worsening occurrences of fog. Nanako gives the politician an innocent yet genuine answer, which later makes the local TV news. However, her image is not shown on television; only her quotes and vague details about her were mentioned. A few days later, when Ryotaro Dojima intercepts a second warning letter left in the Dojimas' mailbox, he angrily brings the Protagonist to the police department for questioning and leaves Nanako home alone to put herself to bed. Eventually, he leaves his nephew at the station, detained, confiscating his phone and leaving him under Adachi's watch. The Investigation Team is unaware of what has happened--only when Yosuke and Teddie idly call the Protagonist on his cell and home line do they find out from Nanako about the situation. Worse, only a short time later when the Midnight Channel airs, Nanako is revealed to be the next victim.

Realizing that Nanako is in danger, the Investigation Team leaps into action, half heading to the police station to talk the Protagonist out of detainment and the remainder to the Dojimas' to check on Nanako. Along the way, Naoto Shirogane explains how Nanako's image could have appeared on the Midnight Channel despite never having become famous on TV: days after the news report, the newspaper published Nanako's photo and information while covering the same story. With a face to match to the popular newspiece, the murderer had secured his next victim.

Amongst the confusion, and before the Investigation Team can interfere, Nanako is kidnapped. In the police station, gathering the salvaged bits of clues Ryotaro Dojima managed to collect relating to the initial two murders, the Investigation Team eventually deduces the culprit's identity and method: Namatame, council secretary and lover of the first victim Mayumi Yamano, and whom now works for his father's delivery business. Ryotaro takes off in his SUV in pursuit of the kidnapper's delivery truck, causing Namatame to panic at the wheel--the truck spins out, Ryotaro loses control, and both vehicles crash into the facade of a nearby building. Luckily, the Investigation Team is not far behind and Ryotaro is quickly attended to by ambulance, but the kidnapper and his victim are nowhere to be found. Finding a large TV in the back of the delivery truck and a diary listing information regarding all the victims thus far, the Investigation Team affirm their theory and plan Nanako's rescue and Namatame's pursuit.



Inside the Midnight Channel, Nanako's presence creates her reality, Heaven, which reflects her innocence and her wish to see her mother, whom Nanako believed to be in Heaven after her death. Working their way toward her, Rise asserts that Nanako is not the only person trapped inside this reality; they realize with horror that Namatame didn't throw in his victim and escape, but instead that he followed Nanako inside to escape the police. The Investigation Team eventually makes it to the top, where they find Nanako being held hostage by Namatame. Due to Nanako's age, innocence, and lack of emotional baggage that would generate a Shadow, her own does not emerge... but Namatame's is revealed to be one and the same with his own form, and this bizarre human-shadow fusion produces a Shadow creature of terrifying power that the team manages to defeat.

Though Namatame is subdued, Nanako seems to have fallen strangely ill, and passes out in the Protagonist's arms. After the police arrive to apprehend Namatame and rush the young girl to the hospital, Nanako eventually awakens. The doctor, however, is perplexed and admits to a worried Dojima that they cannot actually identify what is wrong with her, and are just numbing her current pains with medication as well as they can. Teddie expresses concern that Nanako spent too much time in the TV world, and that the fog must not have been good for her, to the Investigation Team's chagrin. Days later, while out with the team buying Nanako a Christmas present, the Protagonist gets an urgent call from Adachi telling him that Nanako's condition suddenly became critical. The Team rushes to Tatsumi Memorial, but despite the doctor's efforts, Nanako quietly slips away, calling out weakly to her father.

Stricken, Dojima runs to Namatame's room, but is later escorted by the police guard back to his room, giving the Investigation Team the opportunity to sneak in. Grief-ridden and devastated, and convinced on Naoto's word that it's likely the court will never find him guilty, the Investigation Team contemplates bringing Namatame to justice by pushing him through his hospital room's TV. This decision turns out to be crucial, as can be seen in the ending threads below.

Bad Ending
Should the Protagonist choose to kill Namatame to avenge Nanako, the game ends with her death, and Ryotaro grieves over being unable to see her one last time. Teddie returns to the Midnight Channel, leaving the Investigation Team a note, and the case goes unsolved. The stifling fog is never lifted, and the game ends on a bitter note with the Protagonist departing Inaba to return to the city.

Neutral Ending
The 'neutral' ending can be unlocked should the Protagonist choose to talk the Investigation Team down and spare Namatame, but then fail to identify the real culprit. Teddie then returns to the Midnight Channel, leaving the Investigation Team a note. Nanako is revived, although she remains in a coma, the stifling fog is never lifted, and the case goes unsolved. The 'neutral' ending fast-forwards to spring of the next year, during which Ryotaro Dojima takes the Protagonist to the train station to head back home to his parents, lamenting that it was too bad Nanako wasn't yet healthy enough to leave the hospital and see him off.

Good Ending
Should the Protagonist talk the Investigation Team down and spare Namatame, expressing his doubts that it would solve the case of the bizarre murders, Nanako will be revived. The Investigation Team will discuss the case further and deduce that there may, in fact, be a second murderer involved, whom they must track down. After the case is finally solved and the true culprit apprehended, Nanako is released from the hospital and is able to spend Christmas with her father, cousin, and the Team. By the time the Protagonist has to return to the city in the spring, Nanako is back to full health and cheerfully sees him off.

True Ending
Upon the Investigation Team's realization that a last player in the bizarre murders must be eliminated, the Protagonist needs Nanako's help to remember a certain individual he met on his first day in Inaba. Nanako recalls stopping at Moel gas station on their way from picking him up, and this small detail helps the Team track down the gas station attendant Izanami.

Persona 4 Manga

 * To be written

Persona 4 The Animation


In the anime, when she receives a gift from her father on May 5, it is a blue shirt with a picture of a platypus instead of an orange one like in the original game.

On July 10, when she is shopping at the market, she encounters Mitsuo. He attempts to grab her, frightening her, but Yu intervenes.

At the Dojima household, after they defeat Shadow Mitsuo and catch the original, the group hangs out with Nanako. Each of the girls make horrible food that Nanako eats, and says nice things about in order to cheer them up. She then makes a pinky promise with Teddie and notices that Yosuke calls her "big bro" by his name, Yu.

On August 8, she encounters Fox while it is raining. She gives it her umbrella, to which it expresses its gratitude. While at home with Yu, she notices that he's been very busy lately, and hasn't been spending as much time with her. Thus, in the following days, she wears her super hero outfit to investigate Yu's whereabouts. As Nanako continues spying on Yu, Teddie interrupts her and sniffs out Yu's scent. He tells her Yu's location, and in spite of being aware the information is false, she chooses to follow him anyway to a food shop. The next days she continues to look for him with the help of Yu's friends. They continue to search, but are ready to give up. That is until they see "Teddie" take a bus and begin questioning him until he runs away from them. On August 18, she finally finds Yu, catching him with an older women with black hair as, and believing he's on a date. While at the Junes Court, sitting disappointed and depressed, she encounters Yosuke and Teddie. She tells them everything about Yu dating older women. Together, they go to find Yu, and end up discovering him with another older woman. Nanako notes that this is not the same woman she initially saw, which the guys react to in shock. This time with disguises given to them by Teddie, they continue following Yu and find him with a much older lady and. They respond to the discovery with a great deal of shock, remarking together, "She's super old!".

At the Summer Festival, as she begins to give up and leaves her mirror behind, Naoto appears and gives it back to her. She encourages her, and tells her not to give up until the case is over. Before she can do so, she notices Kou and Daisuke having trouble with their stand, as all their shaved ice has sold out. She helps them by talking to one of Yu's friends, as they have ice at their restaurant and can deliver it. She also helps Ai get her scarf out of the tree with her extended mirror-like stick. She later sees Yu while he is holding something and continues to her investigation of him. However, before she can get any further, she stops to once again to help Daidara from choking on his snack. Eventually, she is able to find Yu, and they are able to watch the fireworks together. The boy she saw from yesterday then appears, needing to ask Yu for something. She notice that he is smiling even while he was crying. As Nanako meets the people Yu has met, during festival she gets to spend time with her father and his "Big Bro" as family. As the summer comes to an end, she questions Yu on what he's been doing over the summer.

Then on October 11, Nanako becomes sad and depressed that her father is at work all the time and isn't spending time with her at home. Nanako tells Yu that it's like Dojima is not even her real father. Throughout the weekend, she asks her father to sign a form to observe her class at school. When he doesn't, she bursts out to him that he only cares about his job first, then her, prompting her to cry. Later, Nanako overhears Dojima and Yu's conversation about "hit and run", she started to get scared when her father yells at her. Nanako confronts Dojima about never listening to her, then repeatedly calls him stupid, tells him he never cares about her, and exclaims, "You're not real my father!", leaving the home crying. She is later found at Samegawa Flood Plain where they used to spend time together with her mother before her death. Nanako starts to cry again, asking why her mother had to leave her, and begins to wonder if her father would do the same. She continues in cry in her father's arms for his forgiveness he had had her. Then, during the credits, she is glad that her "Big Bro" and her father are now a family.

In November, Nanako is kidnapped and bought to the Heaven dungeon by Namatame. She is still held hostage by him even after he merges with his Shadow. After the party's arrival, Yu tries to rushed in to save her, but his body becomes controlled by Kunino-sagiri and is turned against the party. He summons Beelzebub and almost kills the entire party with Megidolaon, but Nanako manages to wake up and pleads with him not to fight them. This prompts Yu to notice the ring she had given him, giving him the strength to resist Kunino-sagiri's control long enough for Tomoe and Take-Mikazuchi to disable the Devil Persona. Sukuna-Hikona then cuts her free of Kunino-sagiri's grip, but ends up causing her to fall from a great height. Yu manages gather his strength to break free from Kunino-sagiri's control, and catches her before she hits the ground. His bond with Dojima then gives him the strength to summon the Ultimate Form of the Hierophant Arcana, Kohryu, allowing him to protect Nanako from further harm, and freeing the rest of the party from Kunino-sagiri with Salvation. Nanako later gives him the strength to summon the Ultimate Form of the Justice Arcana, Sraosha, allowing him to purify the remaining Shadows with Mahamaon.

On December 3, Nanako dies in Inaba Municipal Hospital.

On December 4, Nanako mysteriously comes back to life much to the relief of everyone there.

After Ameno-sagiri was defeated, she woke up and told her Dojima that she dreamt that Yu and his friends had defeated the "bad guys".

Trivia

 * In the video game, Nanako receives an orange shirt with a picture of a platypus, but in the anime it's a blue shirt with a platypus.
 * Nanako is the most character that also interact or involved with other Social Links. She is secondary character on her father's Social Link. She spend times on few events with Investigation Team. Some Social Links on certain ranks have additional scene involving Nanako if player attend them before November (these scenes simply omitted if player attend them after November). In the anime, she encounter some Social Links people as well (Fox, Ai, Hisano, Sayoko, Eri, Shu). Finally, she also appears on few scenes on new Social Links on Persona 4 Golden.
 * In final episode of Persona 4 The Animation when she told Yu "I'm going to marry you someday!", Her feelings and actions is similar to Maiko at the end of her social link with Protagonist in Persona 3.