Shadow Yukiko



Shadow Yukiko is a boss in Persona 4. It is Yukiko Amagi's "other self", which represents her feelings of pent-up anger and frustration of being trapped in Inaba.

Appearances

 * Persona 4 / Golden: Boss
 * Persona 4 Manga: Boss
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Boss
 * Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: Playable Character

Profile
The protagonist, Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, and Teddie enter Yukiko's Castle in the Midnight Channel. They encounter and defeat Shadow Chie, but the exaustion of facing her "other self" forces them to retreat. Teddie explains there is little risk in leaving Yukiko until the fog lifts in the Midnight Channel, so they decide to return later.

After regrouping, they locate Yukiko and her other self, Shadow Yukiko. She acknowledges her dependency on Chie, calling her "a strong prince", but she has realized that Chie can not help her leave Inaba, exaggerating her own helplessness and making fun of the entire situation.

Symbolism
Shadow Yukiko takes the form of a "caged bird", with an emphasis on her large wings in a small cage. This symbolizes Yukiko's feelings of being trapped in her current situation in Inaba, since she is expected to eventually run the family business. Her life has been pre-determined for her, which limits any possibilities her future may hold. Shadow Yukiko represents the Vermilion bird (Suzaku in Japanese). The Suzaku symbolizes the fire-element, which explains her Arcana.

While Yukiko represents the Priestess Arcana, Shadow Yukiko represents the reverse Priestess (known for poor decision making and intellectual conflict). Her Shadow self acts like a flamboyant "princess", expecting some magical "Prince" to come whisk her away from it all. She wishes to be saved from her life, yet runs from the Investigation Team, who are there to save her, upon their first and second encounters. During battle she summons her Charming Prince, as if manifesting her wish for someone to come save her.

Strategy
Shadow Yukiko absorbs fire attacks and she can summon Prince Charming who is weak to ice attacks and strong against wind attacks. It is generally advisable for you to only attempt to challenge Shadow Yukiko when your party members are at least Level 14, where Yosuke gets Sonic Punch and Chie gets Mabufu, which will be extremely useful in keeping the Charming Prince down while still being able to contribute to overall DPS.

It is highly recommended for the player to bring a fire resistant Persona (Orobas and Senri are the best candidates) for the battle and have the ability Red Wall to protect Chie from Agi and "Burn to Ashes". If not available, cast Sukukaja on Chie, which is available on Yosuke, and cast Sukunda on Shadow Yukiko to lower the chances of her "Burn to Ashes" ability landing a hit.

It is also recommended for the protagonist to have a Persona with Media to assist Yosuke with healing (While it may take some work, Senri leveled up to Level 11 can have Media and has immunity to fire, making her the optimal candidate for healing here.). If Media is not available, consider investing in some medicine. About 4-6 pieces will usually suffice for any difficulty, but feel free to bring more if you aren't too confident.

Shadow Yukiko uses Agi and Physical Attacks, mostly Double Fangs, when her HP is around 100% - 51%, but once her HP drops to 50% she starts to use a powerful fire attack called "Burn to Ashes" which can deal major damage to the party. Note that Shadow Yukiko has a somewhat above-average critical-hit rate, so her physical attacks are very prone to causing critical hits, casting Sukunda on her is never a bad strategy, as so to reduce her chances of landing a successful attack.

Casting Rakunda on Shadow Yukiko, which is readily available on Izanagi, will also help keep the fight less dragged-down. It is advisable you keep it on her as much as possible.

Charming Prince
Charming Prince can heal Shadow Yukiko, although this usually happens very rarely as he is more focused on attacking and casting Sukukaja, as well as instill fear in the player's party members, so that Shadow Yukiko may deal major damage with "Shivering Rondo", the player can have Chie use Mabufu, so that it can knock the Charming Prince down and still do damage to Shadow Yukiko. Do note that in the event Shadow Yukiko causes a knockdown from either hitting a character's weakness or landing a critical hit, she will cast White Wall on him, removing your chance to gain an extra turn when using Mabufu.

Once this happens, it is highly advisable you ignore the Charming Prince and simply focus in taking Shadow Yukiko down. He casts Diarama on an uncommon basis, and he isn't too annoying or threatening either. Plus, wasting turns on him can land your party in a very bad position with Shadow Yukiko.

Persona 4 Golden
In Persona 4 Golden, Shadow Yukiko has been tuned down a bit. She is weak against Ice, so use Bufu against her to knock her down. After Bufu has been cast on her she will cast White Wall to protect herself. After dealing 40% - 50% damage against her she will summon Charming Prince. Charming Prince is weak to Electricity and can support Shadow Yukiko by healing her with Diarama, casting Silence and attacking the party members. After dealing enough damage on the Prince, it will run away and Shadow Yukiko will waste a turn trying to re-summon the prince, but he will not come back. Before reaching critical health, Shadow Yukiko will also have an indicator when she will cast Burn to Ashes as well making the battle considerably easier.

Battle Quotes

 * Shadow Yukiko: I am a shadow... The true self... Now, my Prince... Why don't we dance and make merry together? *chuckle* / Chie: Hang in there, Yukiko! I'm right here for you! / Shadow Yukiko: Oh, reeeally? Then I'll make sure to give you plenty to deal with! (Battle Opening)
 * Hmhmhmhm... (Attacking)
 * Hahaha! Not bad, but we're just getting started!
 * Ooh, looks like you haven't had your fill of divorcing!
 * Such bothersome princes! The dance isn't over yet!
 * Aha, what hopeless princes! Shall I destroy you all? *giggle*
 * I'll have nothing to do with you! Die, imposters!
 * giggle* That's how my prince should be!
 * You little...
 * I don't understand! You won't lift a finger for me!
 * Everything, begone!
 * giggle* Goodbye!
 * No...I was going to escape all of this...
 * You're in my way! (Attacking)
 * screech* (Attacking)
 * chuckle* We're not done yet. Show me this strength of yours! Come, my Prince... Heeheehee... (Summoning Charming Prince)
 * My Prince! My dear prince! (Defeat Charming Prince)
 * Why?! Why won't he come!? (Failing to summon Charming Prince)
 * Be gone! (Using Shivering Rondo)
 * What? Are you trying to make me mad? That's not how it's supposed to work... You have to escort me! (Weakening)
 * Hmph, looks like I had the wrong idea... You're no Princes... Die, you worthless commoners! (Weakening)
 * NO! (Upon defeat)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

 * "Want me to burn you?" (Character select)
 * "Wait for me, my prince!" (Character select)
 * "Did you really think the others would rely on you forever?" (vs. Yu in Arcade Mode)
 * "Ahaha! Try and liven things up like the pipsqueak you are!" (vs. Yosuke in Arcade Mode)
 * "Ew, you reek of sweat! I need to burn away the germs!" (vs. Akihiko in Arcade mode)
 * "Forget it!" (Guarding)
 * "There..." (Instablocking)
 * "Deflect!" (Instablocking)
 * "Why?" (Persona Break)
 * "No!" (Persona Break)
 * "No way...!" (Hit by a Counter Assault)
 * "So?" (Recovering)
 * "You annoy me." (Recovering from a deadly combo)
 * "Back off!" (Resisting a throw)
 * "Get hit!" (During her third fan strike in her autocombo)
 * "Go!" (Summoning Persona)
 * "Konohana-Sakuya!" (Summoning Persona)
 * "Hurry and go!" (Summoning Persona)
 * "Ahahahaha!" (Summoning Persona)
 * "This is it!" (Summoning Persona)
 * "Take your lumps!" (Performing a throw)
 * "There!" (Performing an air throw)
 * "I'm here!" (Performing an aerial backdash)
 * "Ready!" (During an All-Out Attack)
 * "A flurry of strikes!" (During an All-Out Attack)
 * "One last blow!" (Upon launching or knocking back the enemy after the initial All-Out Attack)
 * "...where are you looking?" (Sweep)
 * "Too bad!" (Counter assault)
 * "That's enough!" (Burst)
 * "One more strike!" (One more burst)
 * "I'll get rid of you!" (Upon activating her Shadow Frenzy)
 * "That's not enough!" (unused)
 * "I've HAD it!!!" (unused)
 * "I'll show you my dance!" (Idle or when winning a round)
 * "Nice try." (Winning a round)
 * "You're not done?" (Winning a round)
 * "You missed!" (While performing Dia)
 * "Burn it all, Sakuya!" (When performing Vermillion Bird)
 * "Agi!" (When performing Agi)
 * "Burn!" (When performing Agi)
 * "Agilao!" (When performing SB Agi)
 * "Maragi!" (When performing Maragi)
 * "Ahaha!" (When performing Maragi)
 * "Maragion!" (When performing SB Maragi)
 * "I can feel it!!!" (When performing Fire Boost)
 * "I'll turn you to CINDERS!" (When performing Fire Break)
 * "Burn to ashes!" (When performing SB Fire Boost or Vermillion Bird)
 * "Spiral!...Agidyne!" (while performing super move, Agidyne)
 * "Rise up...flame dance!" (while performing Awakening super move, Maragidyne)
 * "The time has come." (unused)
 * "Grace the air...cherry blossom storm!" (unused)
 * "...and that's the end of that." (unused)
 * "Step aside!" (When performing Dancing Flames)
 * "Away with you!" (When performing Dancing Flames)
 * "Fan twirl!" (unused)
 * "I must ask you to leave." (Winning a round)
 * "I got my lacy unmentionables on...hope you're ready!" (Intro)
 * "Are you my Prince Charming?" (Intro)
 * "I'm sick and tired of it all...!" (Intro)
 * "Okay, shall we get started?" *giggle* (Intro)
 * "Ahahaha, this is getting fun!" (Victory)
 * "Will you get lost?" (Winning a round)
 * "Will you die for me?" (Winning a round)
 * "I wonder where my Prince Charming is..." (Victory)
 * "I will walk my own path." (Victory)
 * "Someone please take me away..." (Victory)
 * "Ahaha, you long to be freed, right?" (After defeating Yukiko)
 * "No!!!" (Defeat)
 * "WAAAH!!!" (Defeat)
 * "I lost?" (Defeat)
 * "No, why?!?" (Defeat)
 * "NO, WHY!?!?!" (When losing by time-out)
 * "My prince...I'm here..." (Game over)
 * "I'll never disappear!" (Continue)
 * "Congratulations, you cleared it! *giggle* So YOU were my prince after all! How lovely. Now, let's go set the world on fire together, my love!" (Upon clearing Arcade/Score Attack/Golden Arena mode)
 * "Ahaha, congratulations on clearing it! You're the prince for this lonely Snow Black! Let's take a trip around this ruined world for our honeymoon!" (Upon clearing Arcade/Score Attack/Golden Arena mode)

Victory Quotes
Generic Character Specific
 * "It was decided from the start, you know? You're destined to die here!"
 * "I have no business with you. If you're not my prince, then die!"
 * "It's beautiful to watch things burn alive, isn't it? Everything should just burn away!"
 * "Why? Why won't you come for me? I want to hurry and skip somewhere that isn't here!"
 * "I won't let you say I'm lonesome. Look at how hard I'm trying!"
 * "Hey, haven't you noticed? People hate how you keep pointlessly meddling in others' affairs!"
 * "Hahahaha! You should've just ran away! You got hurt because you just kept hanging around here!"
 * Yukiko Amagi: "Is there any point in protecting some old-fashioned tradition? You should just cast everything away! To hell with being tied down!"
 * Chie Satonaka: "You really can't do anything for me, Chie--I mean, you're so weak! What a total disappointment."
 * Labrys: "Let's put an end to this "playing human" business, hmm? You won't have to suffer anymore if you destroy everything..."

Trivia

 * Shadow Yukiko has been known to give players their first difficult time while playing Persona 4, due to her lacking a weakness (while the previous two did), having the ability to attack one party member's (Chie) weakness, and a minion that can heal her.
 * The Suzaku Feather - a weapon for Yukiko - can be obtained by returning later and defeating this dungeon's hidden boss.
 * Charming Prince isn't summoned by Shadow Yukiko in the game's manga and anime adaptions.