Phantom Thieves of Hearts



The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, is a group of Persona Users in Persona 5. At one point, the player can name the group which will be shown on calling cards and online features with the default name of "The Phantoms".

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, Ann 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 the complex, sophisticated and well-ingrained system of slavery they are trapped in. They are willing to perform illegal activities if it means reaching their own freedom and liberation.

The group is formed when the volleyball teacher of Shujin Academy, Suguru Kamoshida, is revealed to have abused his students and molested Ann'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 speak 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 on 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 extorted, Junya Kaneshiro, whom the police has difficulty to catch due to lack of evidence. Shujin Academy'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, Medjed, who demand them to cease their false justice and give them a chance to right their wrong by joining them. As Medjed declares an all out war against them, the Phantom Thieves change the heart of a prodigy programmer Futaba Sakura, after she requested them to steal her suicidal tendencies in exchange for dealing with Medjed herself. Futaba joins the Phantom Thieves soon after.

The Phantom Thieves' name starts to get tainted when the principal of Shujin Academy commits suicide, leading to the spreading of a rumor that the Phantom Thieves had 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. In order to reform Shido's subordinates and change people's opinion of Shido, Morgana suggests they go to the Mementos' core. Since Mementos is the Palace of the people, every other Palace will cease to exist once Mementos is destroyed. 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 disguised 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 witnesses or solid evidence. However, this means the protagonist may have to be imprisoned in a facility, due to his history with Shido and because the police and prosecutors are desperate to restore their own reputation by arresting the Phantom Thieves and preventing anyone from seeing them as heroes. To change the world and protect his friends, the protagonist agrees to Sae's request. In response to his arrest, his friends try their best to prove his innocence and eventually succeed in doing so two months afterwards when they find the woman he saved, who retracts the testimony Shido forced her to make and resulting in the initial charges of assault being expunged, allowing the protagonist to be freed earlier. 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.

Confidants
In the Japanese official site of Persona 5, those (besides the core members) who the protagonist can form Confidant bonds with are also considered part of the Phantom Thieves as most of them are mentioned during the protagonist's interrogation by Sae Niijima.

Trivia

 * The gloves worn by the Phantom Thieves (except for Morgana who does not wear any) correspond to the elements or roles their Personas primarily represent:
 * Joker: Red (Curse)
 * Skull: Yellow (Electricity)
 * Panther: Pink (Fire)
 * Fox: Cyan (Ice)
 * Queen: White (Nuclear)
 * Oracle: Neon green (rear support)
 * Noir: Violet (Psy)
 * Crow: White (Bless)


 * The Phantom Thieves of Hearts share the unique distinction of not bearing a bond associated with the Fool Arcana, in contrast to S.E.E.S or the Investigation Team. Rather, the Fool Arcana bond is with Igor.