Shiho Suzui

"Ann...? I'm sorry. I... I can't take this... anymore..."

- Shiho to Ann on why she jumped

Shiho Suzui is a character in Persona 5. She is a student at Shujin Academy.

Appearance

 * Persona 5: Supporting Character
 * Persona 5 (Manga): Supporting Character
 * Persona 5 The Animation: Supporting Character

Design
Shiho has brown eyes and dark black hair in a ponytail tied with a pink hairband. She wears her uniform without the black jacket: a beige sweater rolled up to her elbows, and the standard uniform skirt. She has a black leg brace on her right leg. Around her elbows and under her skirt, black bandages of some sort can be seen. She wears white running shoes.

In the anime, she has dark brown hair. She is never shown with her hair down until she woke up from the hospital revealing to have shoulder length hair.

Personality
Shiho at first glance seems to be a quiet and reserved girl who rarely talks to anyone and doesn't smile much. In fact, the only person she lights up around at school is Ann. She lacks confidence to a significant degree, thinking her volleyball skills are all she is talented at.

In actuality, Shiho is an extremely stressed and burdened teenager for various reasons, mostly school related. During the game, it is heavily implied that she was raped by the volleyball coach as an outlet for him, and this is a "final straw" that causes her to attempt suicide. Ann later calls Shiho an "idiot" out of lamentation for how Shiho allowed herself to be manipulated and driven to commit suicide.

Persona 5
Shiho is Ann Takamaki's best and only friend at Shujin Academy, due to the both of them being the "unpopular and outcast" girls of the school without many friends, so they can relate and sympathize. When Shiho met Ann, the first thing she said to her was, "Takamaki-san, your paintings suck."

She joined Suguru Kamoshida's volleyball club shortly before the start of the game but suddenly suffers from a swollen leg, supposedly an injury suffered from training. It is heavily implied she was sexual assaulted by Kamoshida, and used as a cat's paw to blackmail Ann into playing along with Kamoshida's lustful intentions towards her. Kamoshida later reveals this implied sexual assault was due to Ann repeatedly rejecting his advances, "forcing" him to take out his frustrations on her only friend.



Feeling used and full of shame, Shiho attempts suicide by jumping off the school roof, yet she survives. Upon witnessing of the incident, Ann is horrified and nearly rendered speechless. Before she falls unconscious, Shiho reveals to Ann that Kamoshida was the motivation behind her attempted suicide. Shiho's condition worsens in the hospital and she slips into a coma, sparking Ann's desire to get revenge on Kamoshida for what he had done. Shiho falling into a coma and no other student having the will to talk against Kamoshida complicates this, and as a result, the protagonist, Ryuji Sakamoto and Ann decide to make Kamoshida confess his own crimes by stealing the distorted desires in his heart.

After Kamoshida's defeat and confession, Ann reveals that Shiho has regained consciousness shortly after. However, she also sadly reveals to the protagonist and Ryuji that Shiho's mother has decided to transfer her daughter to another school, in hopes of distancing her from the trauma and gaining a fresh start. Ann tearfully accepts this turn of events, realizing that the rumors may not go away even after Kamoshida's admittance of wrongdoing. Ann worries about Shiho moving away but ultimately realizes she will be okay as it would be the best for her.

After the defeat of Yaldabaoth, and the protagonist is sent to juvenille hall, Makoto was seen talking to Shiho as one of the people trying to get him out.



If the player proceeds Ann's Confidant relationship, Ann makes regular visits to Shiho, who is in the middle of physical therapy to recover her strength. Near the end of the Confidant chain, the protagonist and Ann help Shiho revisit Shujin rooftop and she walks near where she jumped so she could conquer her fears and make peace with her memories. She explains that she was desperate to escape Kamoshida's influence; she did not really wish to die, but she heard a voice from within her that urged her to kill herself, possibly Shiho's Shadow Self with suicidal tendencies. She notes that after she recovered, the other voice disappeared, and vows to keep in touch with Ann and follow her friend's success as a model.

Persona 5 Manga
In the manga adaptaion of the game, Shiho's role is near identical to her game counterpart. Among the differences is Shiho is among the students Ryuji interogate in regards to the rumors of Kamoshida's abuse. Prior to her fall from the school, she is shown talking to Kamoshida in his office. Here he reveals his intent to remove Shiho from the team's starting roster due to her poor performance. Horrifed, Shiho begs him to reconsider, where Kamoshida puts on a sinister grin, implying she was raped.