Protagonist (Devil Survivor)

The Protagonist of Devil Survivor is a high school student in Japan.

Appearances

 * Devil Survivor / Overclocked: Protagonist, Human/Bel Race
 * Devil Survivor (Manga): Protagonist as Kazuya Minegishi (峯岸 一哉)

Design
He appears as a boy with short, straight blue hair, and white headphones. (According to Kaido, they give him the vague impression of a bug.) The Protagonist wears a black long sleeved shirt, with a black MP3 player on the collar (that connects to his headphones), red pants with a belt strap on the right side, and black shoes.

In Naoya and Amane's Overclocked eighth day endings, he wears a cape, the color differing depending on which route is taken. If he chooses to become the King of Bel, the cape is black. Should he choose to become the Messiah, the cape is white. He has occasionally been said to resemble his cousin, Naoya.

Personality
Much like the protagonists of the Shin Megami Tensei series, this Protagonist is a clean slate, allowing for the player to develop his personality in whatever direction they see fit: either reveling in the power the COMP offers, or desperately finding a solution to everything, or completely consumed by fear, or any other number of situations that may arise within the game.

His interactions and movements are controlled by the player. His personality is also shaped through the decisions he make as he interacts with the characters in the story. The course and ending of the story depend on these decisions, as well as the events that affect the other characters.

In the manga (and drama cd), Kazuya is a fairly calm and passive young man. He has a broad way of thinking, able to see through things people normally don't. A notable example of this is when he immediately concludes that the Laplace Mail is telling future events when a student who lived next door to Naoya was killed, instead of suspecting Naoya as the murderer like people would have normally thought. He is highly concerned for his friends and family, and goes through great lengths to help them. He is also quick to make decisions and clears his mind despite suddenly being dragged into the war between the demons and angels.

History
The Protagonist is one of human incarnations of biblical Abel, and he had an older brother named Cain, who reincarnated as his cousin, Naoya in the current lifetime. While Abel tended the sheep, Cain cultivated the land. One day, both gave some offerings to YHVH. Abel gave one of his newborn lambs, Cain gave his crops. However, YHVH only found joy in Abel's offer and refused Cain's. This made Cain jealous towards his brother, and killed him with his own hands shortly afterwards. As a result, Abel developed a grudge and his soul was cast into the demon world and became a Bel. Eventually his essence was scattered into the world and inherited by many humans.

Devil Survivor
The Protagonist is a second year high school student, a friend of Yuzu Tanikawa and Atsuro Kihara.

Day Before: An End to the Ordinary
The Protagonist has a cousin named Naoya, who is a computer programmer; while once they were fairly close and lived together, their relations cooled after Naoya left to live on his own in Aoyama. One day, Naoya sent him and his friends a COMP, complete with a heavily encrypted Demon Summoning Program.

1st Day: Tokyo Lockdown
The Protagonist and his friends discovered that the trains were stopped, and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force had blocked off all exits from the inner Tokyo metropolitan area, citing "gas leaks."

2nd Day: Any Way Out
The Protagonist, Yuzu and Atsuro become desperate as they discover the SDF have sealed off all possible escape routes. They also learn that many of the stray demons are trying to awaken a powerful, immortal demon named Beldr.

3rd Day: Beldr
Unable to find a way out, the group prepares for the coming of the Immortal Beldr. After being given a clue by Gigolo and then examining files in the COMPs, they learn that his only weakness is "Devil's Fuge."

Upon retrieving it—a cellphone strap made of mistletoe—the group confronts Beldr at Aoyama Cemetery. Using the Devil's Fuge, the Protagonist defeats the powerful demon and absorbs his power. This results in him becoming a direct participant in the war for the Throne of Bel.

4th Day: Crumbling Reason
Late in the evening, at 17:00, the Protagonist must talk Haru out of committing suicide. If he fails to do so, the player is locked out of every ending except Yuzu's Route.

5th Day: Revelations
The Protagonist and his friends face two crises this day: saving Mari Mochizuki from the vampire Kudlak, and preventing Kaido from killing Keisuke. In order to ensure both survive, the Protagonist must hand Mari's bag to Kaido and tell him to give it to her, distracting him from going after Keisuke.

During the day, the party meets up with both Naoya and the Shomonkai maiden Amane and learns that becoming the King of Bel is the key to ending the lockdown.

6th Day: The Decisive Moment
As the deadline to the government's final solution draws near, the Protagonist must come to a decision and follow paths of others in order to resolve the Tokyo Lockdown. Provided Haru is still alive, the party must save her from Belial, the unholy flame, at the concert hall at Bugeikan. Upon defeating him, the Protagonist absorbs the demon's power.

Early Bad Ending
He, Yuzu, Atsuro, Keisuke and Midori decide to break out of the lockdown during the battle at Ueno on the 6th day. After escaping, a lightning bolt strikes the Yamanote Circle, killing everyone left in the lockdown. Angels then descend from Heaven, stripping mankind of their free will. Unlike the other endings, this is considered a game over and does not lead to a Cleared game save.

7th Day
The events of the last day depend on the protagonist's choices during the week.

Desperate Escape
On Desperate Escape route (Yuzu), the Protagonist elects to run away from his responsibilities, feeling that none of the combatants of the War of Bel will go as far as they claim; to this end, he, Yuzu, Atsuro, and possibly others, will break out of the lockdown with Naoya's help by destroying the SDF and the angel barricades. As a consequence, this allows the demon invasion to spread far beyond the Yamanote Circle, creating an utterly lawless world dominated by demons.

Metatron will send a message to the Protagonist some time later, censuring his choice and damning him for shirking away his duties in the War of Bel, but telling him there might be hope for mankind one day.

King of Demons
On King of Demons route (Naoya/Kaido), the Protagonist decides to follow Naoya's advice and become the Overlord, creating a world unified against YHVH. This ending alienates Yuzu, Midori, and Keisuke who feels scared of such a world and results in them leaving the party.

Kingdom of Saints
On the Kingdom of Saints route (Amane) it is revealed that he is one of the humans with part of the essence of biblical Abel, the first murder victim. Abel was a human with the power of Bel in him, and, thanks to the Protagonist absorbing the two Bel demons, the essence of Abel inside him becomes stronger. Meanwhile, Naoya is the reincarnation of Abel's brother, Cain, the first murderer still serving God's punishment. Following Amane's advice on how to use the power of the Throne of Bel to become the Messiah, the Protagonist creates a world of Law, following the mandates of the Lord against the power of both Lucifer and his brother.

Silent Revolution
On Silent Revolution route (Atsuro), the Protagonist chooses to subjugate the demons by reprogramming the demon summoning server. The demons thus become directly controlled by humans rather than by the typical contract seen throughout the series. This leads to a new revolution which lands Japan a top spot in the UN's Security Council, implying Japan has become a global superpower through the use of demon power.

Song of Hope
On Song of Hope route (Gin & Haru), the Protagonist chooses to follow Gin's goal of removing all demons from Tokyo. To do this, they must upload Haru's song of dispelling, an unfinished melody left to her by Aya, to the server and become King of Bel to invoke it and order to banish all demons from the Yamanote Circle and ending the lockdown. Thereafter, he orders Babel to return to the demon world and seal the rift between the worlds.

Metatron will send a message to the Protagonist some time later, telling him that while the ordeal is over, he is still the King of Bel, and warns that there will be dire consequences should he misuse that power.

8th Day
Exclusive to Overclocked, an 8th day is added along with new endings.

Man's Decision
In the new 8th day chapter following Desperate Escape (Yuzu's Route), the Protagonist, Yuzu, and Atsuro escape the lockdown only to discover the SDF has branded them terrorists and taken their families into custody. In order to clear their names, they return to the lockdown and agree to work with the SDF special forces in clearing out the remaining demons and destroying the Shomonkai's god, Belberith.

The nature of this ending depends on whether the Protagonist helps the remaining Devas restore the barrier around Tokyo; if they succeed, the demon world is successfully sealed once Belberith is banished.

The King's Decision
In the new 8th day chapter following King of Demons (Naoya/Kaido's Route), the Protagonist learns that Metatron is holding Tokyo hostage and extending the lockdown, demanding the new Overlord be slain. He must then decide on how to resolve the new crisis:

If the Protagonist chooses to avoid killing the demon tamers, the people in the lockdown will gradually see the angels as their true enemy. This culminates in Yuzu, Amane, and Captain Izuna rallying the people in the Yamanote Circle behind the Overlord in opposition to God's tyranny. After defeating Metatron, the Protagonist soon leaves to rally the demons in a war against the Heavenly Host.

If the Protagonist chooses to kill both the demon tamers and angels that get in his way, he soon becomes feared by the humans in the lockdown. This results in Yuzu and Midori allying with Metatron in an attempt to stop him. Once he is defeated, the Overlord soon extends his power to Japan and soon the rest of the human world, gradually uniting them as a single nation under his despotic rule before waging war against YHWH Himself. Humanity as a whole eventually supports him as their new ruler, with only the governments of each nation attempting and failing to defy him and his legions.

The Bels also talk to him at certain points as they still exist in some form after being absorbed by him, showing that they have all come to consider him worthy of being the King of Bel. His full awakening allows him to summon Belial and Beldr in his battle against Metatron.

God vs. Hero
In the new 8th day chapter following Kingdom of Saints (Amane's Route), the Protagonist attempts to guide the people of the lockdown to salvation. This provokes Okuninushi, the Creator of Japan, into resisting the Messiah's influence by empowering demon tamers. He issues an ultimatum: the Messiah must guide the first murderer Cain/Naoya, into salvation or else he will destroy Japan and recreate it anew.

Attempting to reach out to Naoya, the Protagonist forgives him for the original murder and tries to convince him to repent, much to his disgust. Despite Naoya seeming unrepentant, he arrives to help the party in the battle against Okuninushi by placing a barrier to prevent him from resurrecting himself. Upon defeat, Okuninushi acknowledges that within Naoya he sees a "single droplet in the thousand-year ice," and agrees to abdicate Japan to the Messiah.

Stats
Unlike all other characters, each time the Protagonist levels up, it is up to the player's decision to determine the allocation of stat points, allowing for flexibility to the player's preferred style of play. He starts with a speed of 50 and movement range of 4, but after the player defeats Beldr, his speed increases to 53. After the player completes any route (barring the Early Bad End), his speed increases to 56. Completing any route other than Yuzu's will give him a movement range of 5.

Trivia

 * The Protagonist's smile changes for Naoya's and Amane's routes. In Naoya's route where he had become the King of Demons, his smile is sinister, making him similar to his cousin. While in Amane's route where he had become the Messiah, his smile is much more friendly and soothing, reflecting his new role as God's messenger. In other routes his smile remains neutral, the same as when the game begins.
 * The Protagonist is the only character in the game to be able to damage Beldr by using Devil's Fuge.
 * The Protagonist is the only character in the game able to do normal damage to any other Bel's.
 * The Protagonist's race changes from Human to Bel should he become the King of Bel.
 * The Protagonist's manga name "Kazuya Minegishi" appears to be a combination of unofficial names for previous protagonists Kazuya and Keiji Minegishi. This may also serve as a reference to Naoya Toudou, the protagonist in Persona manga, who had a deceased brother named Kazuya.
 * In an omake of volume 1 of the manga adaptation, it's revealed that Kazuya is quite popular in his class, since two of his classmates blushed when Kazuya greeting them and stated how they envy Yuzu for being Kazuya's childhood friend.
 * The Devil Survivor protagonist's outfit was available in a collaboration event in Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE shortly after Devil Survivor's Japanese release. To obtain it, players needed to collect demon cards.