Tohru Adachi

Tohru Adachi is a character in Persona 4. He is Ryotaro Dojima's partner.

Appearances

 * Persona 4: Major Character
 * Persona 4 Golden: Major Character; Jester Arcana Social Link
 * Persona 4 (Manga): Major Character
 * Persona 4 The Animation / Golden Animation: Major Character
 * Persona 4 Arena: Mentioned by Kurosawa
 * Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: DLC Playable Character/Navigator; Protagonist (Episode Adachi)

Design
Adachi is a young adult, with unkempt black hair, and gray eyes. He wears a black suit with a white long-sleeved shirt, a crooked red tie, and brown field shoes.

In Persona 4 The Animation, his hair is subtly darker.

In  Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, he wears a yellow jacket during his pre-battle sequence. The jacket was also seen in his concept art, and he was seen wearing it in Persona 4 The Golden Animation.

Personality
A cheerful and jovial detective, Adachi often serves as the story's comic relief. He jokingly refers to himself as the 'slave' of Dojima, complaining of the workload that his partner piles on him. Adachi also often accidentally (and sometimes purposely) blurts out the police investigation results to the Investigation Team, much to his own chagrin. He can be seen hanging around Junes Department Store, usually planning to buy cabbages to cook for dinner. His actions in public hide his normal thoughts and desires however.

It turns out that he is the one behind the mysterious murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. Once the truth is revealed, he shows his true colors as a sadistic, misogynistic, misanthropic, and manipulative man, seeking to have fun. He already knew how dangerous the world inside the TV was, and threw Yamano into it anyway. He manipulated Taro Namatame into "saving" the next victim before the murderer could get to her, all while hiding the truth that he was behind the first two cases. He even said that he got a real kick out of it when he threw that "Kubo kid" into the TV. He acts as if everything was a game, and watched the events unfold. He doesn't seem to care about the consequence of his actions. He also believes that there was nothing great about the real world. It was just "dull and annoying as hell" to him.

Later, in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, although he still taunts the cast as he used to, he appears to have been greatly influenced by the Investigation Team's efforts and tries to help them in any way he is able (due to Sho having a tight grip on him). He even goes so far as to trying to destroy the Persona Fragments that Sho collected to stop his plans and tells Sho that redemption isn't out of his reach, showing an immense amount of selflessness he never would've displayed in the past.

Persona 4
Throughout the story, Adachi is portrayed as a textbook lousy detective — he makes rookie mistakes, vomits at the sight of grisly murders, and is seemingly unable to keep his mouth shut about the murder cases to anybody he speaks with, regardless of their involvement (or lack thereof) in the investigation. Throughout the story, Adachi gives the Investigation Team hints and updates regarding the murder cases' current status, which often influence the action the Investigation Team later takes.

During Nanako's time in the hospital, and immediately following her death, Adachi remains oddly collected. He points the group in the direction of Taro Namatame's room in the same hospital, and the group finds Namatame (the Team's primary suspect of the bizarre murder cases) attempting to escape the hospital. Should the Protagonist manage to stay calm and make the correct decision not to kill Taro Namatame, the Normal Ending is unlocked. The Investigation Team, upon further questioning of Namatame, realizes a horrid truth: everything they've deduced was the direct opposite. Namatame stayed true to his words — he was trying to 'save' the victims, but was merely misdirected. Although he did trap Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, and Naoto, he did not kill Mayumi Yamano nor Saki Konishi, the first two victims.

As the Investigation Team investigates further into the bizarre murder cases and the secret behind the Midnight Channel, they come up with bits of evidence and clues about the truth behind the murders, and find that Adachi has strong evidence of being the murderer.

Realizing this, the Team is informed that Namatame is going to have his transportation and rush to the Hospital, where they trick Adachi into accidentally revealing his connection with the murder cases. In an act of desperation, Adachi runs away from them and enters the Midnight Channel as his final escape.

The Investigation Team tracks down Adachi, and find him within the very first area the Protagonist, Yosuke and Chie ended up in — Mayumi Yamano's dungeon. Upon finding Adachi, the detective reveals that he held a romantic interest towards Mayumi Yamano and used his job on the police force to be alone with Mayumi while she stayed in the Amagi Inn, telling the others that he was sent by to protect her from the media.

When the two are alone in the inn's lobby, Adachi asks whether her affair with Namatame is real, which Mayumi brushes off and spurns his feelings. Enraged, Adachi pushes Mayumi back and accidentally drops her into the TV behind them. Since Adachi only tried inserting parts of his body into the TV before, he was surprised and amused to see that humans can actually enter the TV. After the incident, Mayumi ended up as the first victim, with Saki Konishi acting as witness.

Adachi later questions Saki about her discovery of Mayumi's corpse. Through his questions, Adachi tries to seduce Saki, but Saki retaliates by slapping him. Having his feelings spurned once again, Adachi pushes Saki into the TV inside the Police Station's interrogation room. Since Saki's body was lighter and skinnier than Mayumi, Adachi was able to push her with ease. Boasting his accomplishment, Adachi remarks that he wasn't committing crimes, but merely establishing justice by killing those two "gold-diggers" hoping to swindle Namatame's money.

When Namatame realized that every victim that was murdered first appeared on TV, he contacted the police- however, Adachi was the one who answered Namatame's call. Adachi then reveals that he was the one giving Namatame the idea of pushing the people who appeared on TV into the Midnight Channel (supposedly to save them from the murderer), and mocks Namatame's efforts, wondering aloud whether he was caught up in a messiah complex. When a student named Mitsuo Kubo came to the police station to confess to the murders of Mayumi and Saki, Adachi's superiors were less than amused, and pawned off Adachi off with the student.

Since allowing Mitsuo to confess to the murders would effectively stop Namatame from continuing to kidnap the people appearing on TV, and Adachi couldn't bear to let his "game" of cat-and-mouse end so quickly, he formulated a plan to lock Mitsuo into the Midnight Channel. His plans were, of course, foiled by the Investigation Team, but because Adachi turned off the lights in the interrogation room Mitsuo had no idea that Adachi was the one who pushed him in. When the Team finds him in the other world, Adachi comments that the 'game' would be boring if the Investigation Team were unable to track him down, and congratulates the Investigation Team in a mocking manner. The 'Adachi' talking to the Investigation Team in Mayumi's reality was revealed to be an illusion, and Rise and Teddie later found out that Adachi was already in his reality.

Adachi's ultimate goal was to create a large rift between the Midnight Channel and the Real World, allowing the fog to completely engulf the reality, making the world a place infested with shadows. Taunting the Team, Adachi escapes into his reality, and became surprised when the Team actually gives in to his taunts. Adachi calls the Team "losers", and wonders aloud why wouldn't they take life simpler by just studying, growing up, and getting through marriage.

Adachi's dungeon inside the Midnight Channel Magatsu Inaba takes the form of a twisted maze, covered in yellow police tape, potholes, and signposts. Upon reaching the final floor, Adachi sarcastically gives the Team a round of applause. His justification for his actions is that humanity wants the world to be a place where there is no pain and no suffering, and should the world's population turn into Shadows, that dream could become a reality. Adachi also claims that he originally became a police officer just so he could carry a gun. He proceeds to express his disgust and contempt towards society, saying that everyone is condemned to live a life filled with boundaries — only the lucky few who are born with talent are able to get out, and everyone else is forced to either deny or accept the fact that they will never achieve their hopes and dreams.

Ignoring Adachi's words, the Investigation Team engages Adachi in a fight. During battle, Adachi reveals that he can summon a Persona, with his Persona taking the form of none other than the Protagonist' initial Persona, Izanagi. However, unlike the Protagonist's, Adachi's variation of Izanagi takes the form of a bloodied, vein-covered and more malevolent form. After his defeat, it is revealed that Adachi was being controlled by an entity called Ameno-sagiri, who is the real mastermind behind Adachi's plans of filling the world with fog. However, Adachi himself expressed that it was also partially his true desire as well; and thus was not totally possessed by Ameno-sagiri, and is still to blame for the murders.

Upon Adachi's defeat, he questions the Team's reluctance of killing him, asking them wasn't that their initial goal of pursuing him, in which the Team replies that killing him would essentially continue the cycle: one dies; and shows up in the antenna the next day. Surprised by the Team's resolution, Adachi finally gives up, and willingly follows the Team out the Midnight Channel. Outside the Midnight Channel, upon the police's arrival, the Team was inquired that whether a stretcher would be necessary to carry out an exhausted Adachi, which reveals to be a personal favor of Ryotaro Dojima. Further surprised by the polices' exclamation, Adachi finally acknowledges that despite Ryotaro's strict orders towards him, Ryotaro still considers him as an assistant. Guilt-ridden and touched, Adachi swore to confess his crimes to the police, making full cooperation with them.

If the events of the True Ending Arc, which follows after Adachi's defeat, the Team receives a letter from the recently-convicted Adachi, stating his suspicions about there being a higher being orchestrating the entire thing. Unfortunately, he can only give vague clues at best — and tells the Protagonist it is up to him to solve the mystery.

Golden
In the enhanced port for the Vita, Adachi is a newly-added Social Link, associated with the new Jester Arcana. The link can be started as early as May. If the player reaches rank 6 on his Social Link, the player has the option of not revealing him as the killer, and later destroying evidence, thus letting him go free, or ignoring it and having him jailed.

Over the course of the Jester Arcana, Adachi will mention a little bit about his life, and talk about how troubling some moments in life can be. He also attempts to hide from an old woman who brings him food everyday, and complains about how she's a bother, as well as how poorly her food seems to taste.

If the player chooses to keep silent about Adachi being the prime suspect, they will be able to meet with Adachi prior to leaving, and confront him about being the killer. Adachi will act dumb, pretending not to know anything, and taunt the player, saying that even if he was the killer, there was no proof. The player is given the choice to side with Adachi, and destroy the threatening letter Adachi had secretly sent. Once he does, Adachi will laugh, ridiculing the player once again (as he had just betrayed both Dojima and his friends, going against the search for the true killer that they'd been doing the entire year). Pointing out that destroying evidence is a crime, he calls the protagonist and warns he'd be keeping tabs on him by calling him from his number. This maxes Adachi's Social Link as the Jester Arcana. Adachi leaves the interrogation room, mocking the player one last time with a simple "goodbye, partner."

The ending carries out like the Bad Ending, with the player leaving the foggy Inaba. However, after the credits, there is an additional scene where the player sees Adachi from behind as he's walking past the train. As Adachi grins, the protagonist will angrily clench his cell phone, as the train enters a dark tunnel.

If the player chooses to reveal Adachi as the killer, the scene will play out like normal, with the exception that Rise will mention that Adachi seems to be waiting for the player after confronting him in the TV world. The player can then choose to confront him one last time by himself, or wait until everyone shows up.

By confronting Adachi by himself, the player will head to the entrance of Magatsu Inaba, where Adachi will appear and playfully taunt the player, calling him a fool for coming alone and believing in the Adachi that he saw. Telling him to return with his friends after purposefully shooting the space right next to the player's ear, he will disappear, revealing the Jester Arcana to actually be the Hunger Arcana.

Should the player reach rank 9 and attempt the True Ending, the letter from Adachi will be the same as before, with a slight note at the end. Adachi will tell the player that after what happened, he feels differently about the time he spent with the player, Nanako, and Dojima. However, he still insults the player, calling him a dumbass, and tells him that he will follow his own path, like the player has followed his own.

Upon maxing the Jester/Hunger Arcana before facing Izanami-no-Okami, Adachi will appear before the player, insulting him and reminding him that he would show Adachi the true difference between them.

In the New Ending, Dojima mentions to the reunited Investigation Group that Adachi has become a model prisoner. Adachi says that he gets better treatment in prison than he had with Dojima. Dojima says he'll bring him a cheap cabbage whenever he'll visit again.

Persona 4 The Animation
On May 18, while Adachi buys cabbages, he was seen spying on Yu and others at Tatsumi Textiles for information about Kanji. Then on June 27, he is seen in a police car with Mitsuo in handcuffs and another police officer taking him to the police department.

After being discovered at Mayumi Yamano's reality in the TV world, he did not fully explain how he killed the previous two victims. Instead, he leads separate members of the Seekers of Truth to different pasts where he killed them. He was finally located at the ruins of Yu's home at the Dojima Residence and faces off with Yu in battle with their Izanagis. During their battle, he continues to set traps for Yu and his Izanagi that prevent him from moving, leaving him with an advantage on taking him down. Adachi had Yu at gunpoint, but missed on purpose to scare him.

After his defeat, Adachi was about to commit suicide by holding his gun to his head, but was stopped by Ameno-sagiri, who takes control of him.

The Golden Animation
Adachi's backstory is extended in the remake anime adaptation.

In episode seven, after Yu and Adachi's Persona's clashed against each other, Yu saw a glimpse of Adachi's past and the world from his perspective.

Since he was a high school student, Adachi was seen studying constantly and did not bother with making friendships or joining any clubs. However, he always noticed the students who seemed to be having fun with other people, as well as the people who were noticed for their achievements.

In the memories of his life in Inaba, it shows that Adachi was always pulled around by Dojima and they shared a close colleague relation as partners close enough that Dojima even got. However, when Yu came to Inaba, it seems that Adachi felt that Yu had taken away whatever amicable place he had in Inaba and also became jealous of the bonds that Yu had with his friends and family; Yu who had seemingly used the same cup that had been set aside for Adachi at the Dojima house. Later, however, after Yu single-handedly defeated Adachi, Yu revealed that even Adachi had a bond with him by revealing that the cup for Adachi was actually Adachi's own unique cup, Yu's cup was pink while Adachi's cup was red as part of a four cup set with the rest of the Dojima family.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Adachi suddenly reappears after the red fog covers Inaba and seems to know what is going on. He has more knowledge of Persona users and the Shadow Operatives and though his objective and motives are unknown, he clearly states he is not working with Sho Minazuki and apparently has some business to attend to at the top of the Tartarus-esque tower that appeared at Yasogami High School. It also appears both him and Sho are aware of each other's presence.

Adachi appears as a DLC character at the cost of 800 yen, however, those that pre-ordered the game or purchased him in the North American network store launch at week one will get him for free. In addition, he plays a major role in a scenario called "Episode Adachi", which covers his role in the game, as well as his relationship with Sho Minazuki. In his debut trailer, he is first seen walking through the halls of the transformed Yasogami High, with Yu, Chie, and Yosuke looking at him in shock that he is even here, as during the events of Persona 4 Arena, Adachi was in prison.

His intro starts with the police still questioning his methods for the two murders in Inaba, which they still do not believe Adachi's words on the matter. However, in a twist of irony of being physically assaulted by a brainwashed police officer in an interrogation room (much like how Adachi dealt with his second and third victims), Adachi finds himself in the TV world once more.

Upon meeting Yu and company, he explains that he originally planned to take it easy, but "things happened" so he had little choice in the matter, in that beforehand Sho attempted to have Adachi join his side out of similar mindsets towards the world. However, Adachi refuses to be lumped with him, and thus is tossed into the P-1 Climax out of irony and little choice to distract the Investigation Team.

He somewhat retains his carefree and aloof personality, stating that it's rather nice of them to think about Inaba's future, but later says that he couldn't care either way, as he follows his own set of rules. He also says that he's "glad" that the group is still woefully ignorant about things as ever. Concluding his trailer, he states that he doesn't care how many times it'll take, he's more than happy to put the Investigation Team in its place. However, many of his acts tend to be covert clues, since Adachi himself can't reveal too much without getting killed due to Minazuki's grip on him.

He also feels that Sho could've redeemed himself in comparison to Adachi himself, for Adachi states he's more wicked and cruel Sho could ever be, and feels it's not too late for him.



In the end, Adachi is pummeled by Sho Minazuki (especially in the P4 story route) for trying to betray him and destroy what Sho had tried hard to gather up, and Sho states he was simply using Adachi as a tool in the first place (all while Adachi berates Sho about their differences and how he can redeem himself).

However, Yu manages to arrive on time to halt Sho and fight him to prevent Adachi from being hurt any further, and Yu also manages to see through Adachi's "facade" of simply messing with him and his friends earlier. Minazuki is revealed to have been planning to use Adachi in order to suppress Kagutsuchi, a plan that Kagutsuchi was aware of.

After Hinokagutsuchi's defeat at Yu's hands, Adachi gets back up and manages to help Yu defeat it by combining the might of both their Izanagi-Personas, and Adachi beforehand comments that Yu "should've finished it off by the time I woke back up".

After the end of the events, Adachi as he says "follows the rules" and hands himself back into prison. Months after, Adachi is paid a visit by Dojima, much to the chagrin of the former. However, after their initial exchange of passive words to one another, both of them can't help but enjoy the time spent catching up again. Adachi noted that he had ended his relationship with Dojima, only to find it re-established. Despite calling it troublesome, he couldn't help but smile and feel a bit relieved that he and Dojima were still friends after everything that transpired last year.

His theme/leitmotif is called "A Fool or Clown?", a possible nod to his reversed The Fool or his Social Link in Golden representing the Jester Arcana, as well as nodding to his original boss theme, "A New World Fool".

Playstyle
Adachi's playstyle can be described as a mixture between Rushdown and Grappler. He is heavily dependent on his Persona Magatsu-Izanagi, and most of his normals aren't safe to use and leave him out in the open, combined with the fact that he also needs most of his SP moves to help continue his higher damaging combos does somewhat hurt Adachi. His normal C attacks, which lead into somewhat violent animations, are both usually used as combo enders, and his gunshots are mostly used to squeeze out some small damage at the end. Out of all of his supers, two of them stand out the most: Heat Riser and Magatsu Mandala. Upon using Heat Riser you'll notice a small icon of Adachi appear on top of his SP gauge. This represents that for a short period of time, Adachi will have increased damage. With Magatsu Mandala, a small icon of Magatsu-Izanagi will appear above his SP gauge. Once this happens, all of Adachi's Persona moves will have the ability of inflicting a different ailment. The following moves inflict the following ailments:
 * 5C, j.C, Atom Smasher - Poison
 * 5D, 2D, J.2D, Megidola - Shock
 * Heat Riser - Rage
 * Magatsu Mandala - Panic
 * 2C, j.2C - Silence

Persona 4

 * "The world is about to change! Your existence won't belong there! I thought I could just leave you be, but you're like a plague ... I'll have to get rid of all of you!"
 * Yosuke: "I wish we could get rid of you, but we'll make sure you pay for what you've done!"
 * Chie: "You're the plague!"
 * Naoto: "Let's do it … If we work together, there's no chance we could lose to a man like this!"
 * "Shut up! Get lost! Get the hell out of my sight!"
 * "Damn brats! Shut up and let me finish you off!" (75% HP)
 * "Dammit! You're all such a pain in the ass! I'll kill you, just like I did those other ones!" (50% HP)
 * "Bastards! There's no way I can lose ... it makes no sense! I can't lose!" (25% HP)
 * "Persona!" (summoning his Persona. Unused)
 * "Magatsu-Izanagi!" (calling out his Persona's name. Unused. Used in Persona 4: The Animation.)
 * "There's no place for you here! Get lost!" (unused)
 * "I left you alone because you're brats, but I guess I was too nice!" (unused)
 * "You keep getting in my way! I'll kill you all!" (unused)
 * "What can brats like you do? *laughs* Fight all you want! See if I care!" (unused)
 * "You're all such a pain in the ass! It's about time I taught you a lesson!" (unused)
 * "You're all such a pain in the ass! You always get in my way!" (unused)
 * "It's about time I taught you a lesson!"
 * "You little brats..." (unused, possible recovery after being knocked down?)
 * "Wipe that smile off your face!" (unused, possible recovery after being knocked down?)
 * "Don't underestimate me!" (unused, again possible recovery)
 * "Mwuhahaha! Let's end this!" (unused)
 * "What's wrong? Scared? Hahaha!" (unused, possibly intended for his Evil Smile + Ghastly Wail strategy)
 * "Now … let's get this over with!" (unused)
 * "This may be too much for brats like you!" Hahaha! (unused)
 * "Just shut up and die!" (unused)
 * "Dammit..." (defeated)
 * "Missed me!" (dodges)
 * "Dumbass!" (summoning Persona)
 * "Die!" (casting spell)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

 * "You wanna play with me?" (Character select screen)
 * " *sigh* What a pain in the ass." (Character select screen)
 * "Hey -- don't bore me, okay?" (Character select screen)
 * "I hate looking after brats, you know?" (Intro)
 * "Is it okay if I finish this quick?" (Intro)
 * " *yawn* I don't wanna do this." (Intro)
 * "Wow, you're pretty well made, I'm impressed." (Intro, versus Shadow)
 * "Ugh... I've seen enough of your face already." (Intro, versus Yu)
 * "You won't hit me." (Dashing)
 * "Comin' at ya!" (Initiating all-out attack)
 * "Gonna beat your ass!" (During all-out attack)
 * "Good times." (Winning the round with an all-out attack launch)
 * "This is gettin' fun." (When reaching Awakening)
 * "Heat RISER!" (Using Heat Riser)
 * "A brat like you needs to be punished properly!" (Using Heat Riser)
 * "Get out of my sight!" (Using Vorpal Blade)
 * "I like that look on your face." (After Ghastly Wail)
 * "That's enough of that!" (Successfully using Burst)
 * "Your attention please. Ta da! Megidola." (Using Megidola)
 * "I hate to say this, but will you just die." (Using Megidola)
 * "Mangle them, Magatsu-Izanagi!" (Using Ziodyne)
 * "It really is stupid, you know?" (Instant Kill, Fall to Yomi, connects)
 * "You act high and mighty, but lose and you're just a loser." (During IK cut-in)
 * "If you wanna play hero... Then do it with your FRIENDS!" (During IK cut-in)
 * "Haha! Do you understand now?" (Victory via IK)
 * "GET LOST." (Winning a round)
 * "I'll put you out of your misery." (Winning a round)
 * "You're a bother." (Winning a round)
 * "Too bad, looks like no A+ for you." (Victory)
 * "What? It's over already?" (Victory)
 * "Looks like the fake's all flash in the end." (Victory, against Shadow)
 * "Happy now? Hey, you asked for it." (Victory, against Yu)
 * "It's like I keep saying, kids don't know their place." (Victory, versus Yosuke)
 * "Oh please. What happened to the results of your training?" (Victory, versus Chie)

Trivia

 * His style in summoning his Persona is clutching his head in pain, similar to Takaya Sakaki from Persona 3.
 * When Yu confronts Adachi in Persona 4 The Animation, Persona 4 The Golden Animation and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Adachi calls out his Persona's name. This is the only time he says the name of his Persona.
 * His "love for cabbages" is somewhat of an "Ascended Meme"; in the original game, Adachi states he doesn't like cabbage that much and could only afford it at the time due to his budget. The other adaptations, such as The Animation run with it, including his Japanese title in Ultimax.
 * In episode seven of Persona 4 The Golden Animation, he summons his Persona in a similar way to Yu, except he uses his left hand, akin to works portraying villains sometimes being left-handed.
 * His DLC alternate costume palettes resemble Kyouji Kuzunoha, Katsuya Suou, and Theodore.
 * Adachi's tie was a gift from Dojima. Dojima wanted him to look proper since Adachi never wore a tie previously.
 * Adachi carries a lighter on him, but it's only for giving Dojima a light for his cigarette. Adachi himself doesn't smoke.
 * As revealed on Persona Stalker Club, although Adachi, being a police detective, was legally allowed to carry a gun, he wasn't allowed to take it home with him, so he carried a toy gun on his person at those times.
 * One of Adachi's hobbies is to perform maintenance on his revolver.
 * In Ultimax, like Yu, Adachi possesses a Ziodyne skill as well. However, it isn't an SP Skill and is instead a Persona Rush/D attack. In addition, it is colored red rather than blue. This also applies to his Cross Slash variation.
 * Magatsu-Izanagi can also use Megidola, though it uses Megidolaon in Golden.
 * Heat Riser can also be used as an offensive skill, despite it being a buff.
 * Adachi's Cut-In image in both Persona 4 and its anime adaptation showed him with yellow eyes. In Ultimax, however, Adachi's eyes are normal, and are yellow only during Magatsu Mandala.
 * Like Sho Minazuki, Elizabeth, Margaret, Marie and Shadow Labrys with Asterius, Adachi does not possess a Shadow-type form.