Mitsuru Kirijo

Mitsuru Kirijo is a player character originating from Persona 3.

Appearances

 * Persona 3: Playable Character; Empress Social Link
 * Persona 3 (Manga): Major Character; Empress Arcana
 * Persona 3 FES: Playable Character; Empress Social Link
 * Persona 3 Portable: Playable Character; Empress Social Link
 * Persona 3 Portable Drama CD Volume 1
 * Persona 3 Portable Drama CD Volume 2
 * Persona 3 The Movie: Major Character; Empress Arcana
 * Persona 4 Arena: Playable Character
 * Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: Playable Character
 * Persona X Detective Naoto (Manga): Cameo
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Playable Character

Design
Mitsuru has pale skin, long dark red hair and matching color eyes (brown eyes in P3 the movie). At school and while in Tartarus, she wears the school uniform of Gekkoukan High, save for the Gekkoukan jacket and a different white blouse, a big red ribbon and black knee-high boots with high heels. On weekends and days off, she wears a short black peacoat, a white scarf, and white pants, along with said boots. In the summer, however, she wears a white turtleneck shirt with no sleeves, and black pants. As with the rest of S.E.E.S., Mitsuru wears a swimsuit during the excursion at Yakushima. Additionally, she is seen wearing a kimono at numerous occasions.

During her flashback in Persona 3 FES: The Answer, when she was little, she had curly pigtails, a red ribbon with a green gem, a white pluffy blouse, a red skirt, white stockings, and brown shoes. When depicted in her middle school years (in Akihiko's past), she is seen wearing the standard summer school uniform and a black sweater vest.

In Persona 4 Arena, Mitsuru, now 20 years old, reappears and is wearing a fur coat over a black pvc catsuit. She still fights with a rapier and carries an evoker in a holster on her thigh.

Profile
Mitsuru is calm, mature, very intelligent and multilingual, being the top in her class. As the president of the student council, Mitsuru is very caring for Gekkoukan's students, especially towards her fellow S.E.E.S. members, where she acts as a nurturing and motherly figure for them. Due to this however, there are times where she tends to go out of her way often to accept responsibility for many things that especially involves her family's history. She is also good friends with Akihiko. She states that she began using her Persona to protect her father, and becomes utterly depressed when he is killed by Ikutsuki. It is not until after Yukari confronts her in Kyoto that she regains her will to fight and becomes close with Yukari. Mitsuru claims to have absolutely no fashion sense; she relies on her family's stylist instead.

Persona 3
Mitsuru Kirijo is the only child of Takeharu Kirijo, the head of the Kirijo Group, and Hanae Kirijo. She is Gekkoukan High School's valedictorian and the student council president and is part of the school fencing team. She is one of the most respected and popular students at the school. Before the protagonist joins, and even to a degree after he joins, Mitsuru serves as the leader of S.E.E.S. due to her natural talent for leadership.

Mitsuru has battled the Shadows longer than any of the other members of S.E.E.S., having been trained since a young age to use her Persona. From the start of the game, Mitsuru uses her Persona ability aided with special devices to provide battle information and support for the party on the early stages of exploring Tartarus. Even with continued conditioning and self-training, Mitsuru's support range eventually reached its limit, given that her Persona was primarily battle-oriented more than anything else.

After the rescue and induction of Fuuka Yamagishi to S.E.E.S., Mitsuru returns to the front lines.

Mitsuru initially hides many details about Tartarus and the Dark Hour from S.E.E.S. due to her guilt over her family's involvement with creating them. Her grandfather's goal of triggering the Fall caused a majority of the problems that S.E.E.S. must overcome, and Mitsuru feels she alone bears the burden of restoring her family's honor. Shuji Ikutsuki's betrayal and murder of her father destroys Mitsuru's will to fight. She feels that restoring the Kirijo family honor is pointless if she's the only remaining Kirijo. Yukari manages to connect with Mitsuru, and her persona becomes Artemisia. Mitsuru resolves to become the new head of the Kirijo group and to continue the fight with S.E.E.S.

The protagonist and Mitsuru have a good relationship from the start of the game. She offers rewards to him for high test scores and she pushes him to excel. If he has the highest level of Academics, then Mitsuru will date him. In this event, Mitsuru reveals that she has a fiance from an arranged marriage, and that he doesn't really care about her. She initially intends on marrying him anyway for the good of Kirijo group, however, a relationship with the protagonist will cause her to realize that that's not the best thing for her or for the Kirijo Group and she falls in love with him.

The Answer
Mitsuru returns to her position as leader after the members of S.E.E.S. are trapped in the dorm. She has Aigis lead the raiding party in the Abyss of Time since Aigis now possesses the Wild Card. Mitsuru decides to research some old documents that she thinks might help answer why the Abyss appeared.

In one of the flashbacks in The Answer, Mitsuru, still a little child, is taken by her father, Takeharu Kirijo, a scientist from the Ergo Division and some guards to Tartarus. Unlike what it may seem at a first glance, she asked for that herself. While still at the entrance, one of the guards transforms into a Shadow and attacks his companions. Mitsuru stands in the way between the Shadow and her father and then her Persona, Penthesilea, awakens and defeats the Shadow. The scientist that accompanied them, far from worried, praises her unusual power and gets reprimanded by Takeharu, who laments the destiny his daughter is going to bear from now on.

Persona 3 Portable
Just like in the previous game, the maximum Academics requirement remains the same. However, during the female protagonist's route, she seems to be more protective of the protagonist, defending her when Junpei complains of her role as leader despite being a girl during the May operation. When Mitsuru's social link reaches 9, she reveals she fully trusts the female protagonist and her advice in making her life come together. At the end of the social link, Mitsuru will tell the protagonist that it is as though she has gained a younger sister and thanks her.

Additionally, maxing out her social link on a New Game+ as the male character will allow you to spend time with her during the final cutscene rather than Aigis.

Persona 4
In Persona 4, the new student council president of Gekkoukan High, Chihiro Fushimi, mentions that one of the former presidents helped her write her speech to the students of Yasogami High School during their visit. It is believed that Mitsuru is this president.

Persona 4 Arena
After graduating from Gekkoukan High, Mitsuru went to college and is a part of the social elite. She becomes the head of a special operations unit called the Shadow Operatives. But when a plane in transit is hijacked and a piece of cargo, the Anti-Shadow Weapon Labrys, gets lost in Inaba, she calls on Akihiko and Aigis to accompany her to Inaba to retrieve it. She finds that, as Persona users, they are able to enter the TV world only to find themselves in a strange tournament featuring the Persona users of Inaba. Upon rescuing Rise and locating Labrys, she discovers another Labrys. As Labrys and her shadow run off, Rise reminds Mitsuru to trust in Labrys as Mitsuru's cold and direct personality pushed Labrys to a corner. When she reaches Labrys, Rise connects her to everyone else using their words to help Labrys accept her own self as Mitsuru reflects on their bonds, much like her own bonds, reminding her that she is not alone. After Labrys accepts her shadow, they reunite with the Inaba group but Labrys is soon hacked into as a shadow takes on Mitsuru's form. Mitsuru quickly realizes that the shadow is an imposter as Fuuka disrupts the hacker's signal and Mitsuru defeats her "shadow". Learning the weight of the situation, she asks the Inaba group to back off the case to protect them, though she understands that they will probably follow her, eventually giving Naoto Shirogane her approval to further pursue the case. Before leaving, Labrys tells her that she wants to find the true culprit behind the case to give back to her new friends as Mitsuru gladly accepts her resolve.

Playstyle
Mitsuru is a fierce character with a variety of fast pokes that have a respectable amount of range. Like Yu, she is also a "Jack-of-All Stats" character, however, as Yu tends to focus on speed, Mitsuru leans more on force. She has several options to pressure an opponent, even if she is not in direct contact and can draw her opponents in with long-range Persona attacks. Additionally, she can freeze opponents and inflict Charm which drains the opponent's SP gauge to add to her own. Mitsuru is however somewhat limited in attack options. Thus she relies on her feints and delayed attacks in order to either bait out moves from her opponents or go for a reset. Also, like Guile of the Street Fighter series and other examples, Mitsuru is one of the few "charge motion" characters on the roster, so her special moves in the heat of battle require precise timing to stick them into combos, save for her SP skills.

Score Attack
Mitsuru is the eighth character in Score Attack. More of her attacks now inflict freeze, charm, or both.

Battle Quotes

 * "Penthesilea!" (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill: Penthesilea)
 * "Artemisia!" (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill: Artemisia)
 * "Obey my command!" (Summoning Persona: Penthesilea)
 * "I summon thee!" (Summoning Persona: Penthesilea)
 * "I command thee!" (Summoning Persona: Artemisia)
 * "This ends now!" (Summoning Persona: Artemisia)
 * "I shall show no mercy!" (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
 * "Hang in there." (Healing a party member)
 * "Here!" (Using an item on a party member)
 * "Be careful." (Using an item on a party member)
 * "Out of my way!" (Critical hit)
 * "Begone!" (Critical hit)
 * "Such persistence." (Enemy survives attack)
 * "I failed to finish it off." (Enemy survives attack)
 * "This can't be..." (Attack misses)
 * "That enemy is quite fast." (Attack misses)
 * "Not good enough." (Evades enemy's attack)
 * "You've done it." (MC gets One More)
 * "Don't leave the job unfinished." (MC gets One More)
 * "How disgraceful..." (Recovering from Down)
 * "I let my guard down." (Recovering from Down)
 * "Understood." (Changing battle tactics)
 * "Leave it to me." (Changing battle tactics)
 * "The enemy's down! Let's finish this!" (Prompting an All-Out Attack)
 * "You'll fall by my hand." (Initiating All-Out Attack)
 * "So be it." (Denying All-Out Attack)
 * "Now's our chance! Let's go!" (Requesting Co-Op attack)
 * "You have my gratitude." (Being healed by an ally)
 * "Thank you." (Revived from KO)
 * "You've improved." (MC lands critical hit or weak spot)
 * "That's unexpected." (Party member lands critical hit)
 * "Go, Akihiko!" (Akihiko hits a weak spot/critical hit)
 * "The shadows are getting stronger as well." (Battle won: Penthesilea)
 * "My will is unfailing." (Battle won)
 * "I mustn't falter." (Battle won)
 * "You are unworthy of my time." (Battle won)
 * "This appears to be just the beginning." (Battle won)
 * "Let's go!" (Summoning Persona: Artemisia in The Answer when fighting 2-on-2)
 * "I'm in no condition to fight, can you handle this?" (Requesting to leave battle)
 * "My apologies." (Fulfilling request to leave battle)
 * "You're quite the slave driver, aren't you?"(Denying request to leave battle)
 * "Slash attacks are ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Slash)
 * "Strikes are ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Strike)
 * "Pierce attacks are ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Pierce)
 * "Fire is ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Fire)
 * "Ice is ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Ice)
 * "Wind is ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Wind)
 * "Electricity is ineffective." (Enemy resistant to Electricity)
 * "Light seems to be having no effect." (Enemy resistant to Light)
 * "Darkness seems to be having no effect." (Enemy resistant to Darkness)
 * "What?! Almighty attacks are ineffective?!" (Enemy resistant to Almighty)
 * "Give him/her strength! Take my life if you must!" (Final Nyx battle)
 * "...You're cheating. I'll have to punish you." (When using a cheat)
 * "I trusted you. I can't believe you cheated." (When player is using a cheat)
 * "I'm very disappointed in you..." (When using a cheat)
 * "Roger. I'll attempt to analyze the enemy." (Requst to scan an enemy while support)
 * "Use Garu skills against the enemy." (Enemy is weak against Garu spells while support)
 * "Take the enemy down!" (using rush while support)
 * "Keep up the good work." (Battle won with MC while support)
 * "A surprise attack! Prepare for battle!" (Struck by an enemy outside of battle while support)
 * "Two enemies remain. Don't get careless." (Two enemies in battle while support)
 * "Two distressed enemies detected!" (Engaging battle with two enemies with advantage while support)
 * "An assault by two enemies! Stand strong!" (Struck by enemies outside of battle while support)
 * "Three enemies present! Don't get careless." (Engaging battle with enemies while support)
 * "Three enemies! We're at a disadvantage!" (Engaging battle with enemies while support)
 * "Iori is in danger!" (Junpei gets struck by an enemy and low on HP while support)
 * "One more." (One enemy left while support)
 * "Only one more!" (One enemy left standing while support)
 * "One enemy remains." (One enemy left while support)
 * C'est manifique! (MC evades attack while support.)
 * "Look out!" (MC gets struck by an enemy and low on HP while support)
 * "You're injured. Can you heal yourself?" (MC's HP is low while support)
 * "Roger. I'll request help from the others!" (Requesting for help while support)
 * "Takeba is on her way. Hang in there." (Yukari was requested to assist while support)

Persona 4 Arena

 * "Magnifique!" (While chosen on the Character Select screen)
 * "I can't believe one can actually enter a TV." (Starting Arcade Mode)
 * "Akihiko! Show me what you've learned!" (Starting the round, when fighting Akihiko)
 * "The young successor of Shirogane!" (Starting the round, when fighting Naoto)
 * "Akihiko!" (Performing a strong attack on Akihiko)
 * "Aigis!" (Performing a strong attack on Aigis)
 * "Ice Mirror!" (While performing Bufula)
 * "Time to rush this! Out of my way!" (While performing super move, Myriad Arrows)
 * "Come forth! Feel the cold!" (While performing super move, Bufudyne)
 * "I will prevail!" (While performing Awakening super move, Mabufudyne)
 * "The finale!" (Initiating Instant Kill, Niflheim)
 * "It's time for the execution!" (Artemisia freezes the opponent)
 * "Adieu!" (Mitsuru stabs the opponent, finishing the Instant Kill)

Victory Quotes
Generic Character Specific
 * C'est magnifique! A perfect victory!
 * I'm sorry, but I cannot stop now. I'm on a mission.
 * Aigis: Remember the last time we fought like this...? I can see we've both grown since then. Well done.
 * Akihiko Sanada: Akihiko... In our match, I saw the vision of strength you're striving for.
 * Yukiko Amagi: Your moves showed both power and grace. I felt as if I was watching a dance... Truly exquisite.
 * Naoto Shirogane: Your analytical way of thinking showed through in your moves as well. You're a credit to the Shirogane name.
 * Teddie: Such surprising dexterity from an overstuffed body... Very intriguing. Though I have to think it's rather hot inside...
 * Elizabeth: I could tell from the start that she was far from ordinary, but that colossal strength...
 * Labrys: The agony of having a heart, but not being human... I pledge to atone for the sins the Kirijo Group committed against you.
 * Shadow Labrys: She was carrying such profound anguish... It is my duty to rectify the Kirijo Group's past sins.
 * Mitsuru Kirijo: A fight against oneself... Now that I think about it, it's a battle that's constantly repeated in life.

Trivia

 * In Persona 3 Portable, Mitsuru only wields fencing rapiers and jousting lances. Other one-handed swords are for the male protagonist's exclusive use.
 * In the English version of the game, Mitsuru often inserts French words into her speeches; in Japanese, English.
 * One of the portraits in Persona 4 Arena is an updated version of Mitsuru's All Out Attack portrait from Persona 3 Portable.
 * In Persona 4 Arena, Mitsuru's Myriad Arrows, or Setsuna Samidare Geki (Attack of the Instant Early-Summer/Fifth Month Rain) is based on her critical attack.
 * Also regarding this move, Mitsuru along with Yu Narukami (Ziodyne), Aigis (Megido), Naoto Shirogane (Double Fangs) and Elizabeth (Magarudyne, Maziodyne, Mabufudyne, Mamudoon, Diarahan, Mind Charge) are among the characters who do not have naturally learned skills in their movesets (assuming Yu and Aigis strictly use only Izanagi and Athena) as Artemisia is not normally able to learn Myriad Arrows.
 * According to Shigenori Soejima, Mitsuru is the most popular character among the development staff.
 * In Persona 4 Golden, if Yukiko Amagi has the Gekkou Uniform equipped, she will mimic Mitsuru's victory pose after battles as well as say Mitsuru's lines.
 * If a cheat is used, Mitsuru will comment on it.