Gekkoukan High School

Gekkoukan High School, sometimes shortened to Gekkou High (and once referred to as 'G High' in a tabloid magazine), is a major location in Persona 3. While little information about it is given, it appears to be a popular school founded by the Kirijo Group. During the Dark Hour, it transforms into Tartarus.

Appearances

 * Persona 3 / FES / Portable
 * Persona 3 (Manga)
 * Persona 3 The Movie
 * Persona 4 / Golden 

History
Before Gekkoukan High School was founded, the building was built by Kirijo Group, intended as a laboratory to instigate and experiment on Shadows. The scientists would gather the shadows and harvest them, amplifying their capabilities and their potential. It is later shown that during the experiment, the arcana that was never meant to be, Death, was created. It is also revealed that via the experiments, the leading group of the scientists came to know about The Fall. The majority of the scientists embraced the prophecy, with the exception of Yukari's father. Declining Death, Yukari's father intercepted the experiments and destroyed many of the facilities along the way. It is also where the Shadows who began to merge with one another, intending to reform into Death, who was forcefully torn apart. The laboratory was later destroyed by the enraged Shadows, leaving only a few of the scientists alive.

To cover up the incident, Kirijo Group spent a large sum of money and rebuilt the laboratory into a High School. However, as the students enroll in, many of them disappeared with reasons unknown. It was, however, written on the papers that the school suffered from an explosion. 10 years later, the protagonist enrolls into Gekkoukan High school.

Music

 * Want To Be Close - Played during the First Semester
 * Junior Exam - Played during an examination and Summer class
 * Changing Seasons - Played during the Second Semester
 * Memories of the School - Played throughout January
 * Time - Played during the First Semester- Female Protagonist Route
 * Sun - Played during the Second Semester - Female Protagonist Route

Calendar Year
Similar to the context of the Japanese school year, Gekkoukan High School starts at April (unlike in Western countries where they start in September) and ends at March. Students attend classes from Mondays to Saturdays.

The schoolyear is divided into 3 semesters, punctuated by festivals and holidays. There are 3 seasonal long vacations: Summer Break (late July - late August), Winter Break (late December - early January), and Spring Break (late February - early April). In the actual gameplay, the calendar year of 2009 was:
 * First Term: April 7 - July 25
 * Welcoming Ceremony (April 7)
 * Midterm Exams (May 18 - 23) - middle of May, lasts for 6 days
 * Exam results were posted on May 25
 * Final Exams (July 14 - 18) - middle of July, lasts for 5 days
 * Exam results were posted on July 24
 * Post-Exam Break (July 19 - 23)
 * during this time SEES goes on a trip to Yakushima for 4 days, 3 nights on July 20 and returning to the dorm on the evening of July 23
 * Summer Break: July 26 - August 31
 * Yasoinaba High School 2-day fellowship/joint training camp (August 1 - 2)
 * Mandatory whole-day special training (August 27 - 31)
 * Summer Classes (August 10 - 15)
 * Mitsuru applied for all of SEES to attend a week of "intensive courses" to ensure everyone graduates, during which no activity can be done until the evening of August 15
 * Naganaki Shrine Summer Festival (August 16)
 * You will be called in the Early Morning by those whom you've made a Social Link with (Yukari/Fuuka/Chihiro/Yuko for the Male Protagonist, Junpei/Akihiko for the Female Protagonist). The Female Protagonist can opt to go in a yukata or not.
 * Film Festival (August 18 - 31)
 * You will be invited by schoolmates whom you've made a Social Link with during the Early Morning calls. Starting August 22, you can invite SEES members whom you've made a Social Link with. There will be a movie marathon at the theatre and a new theme each day:
 * horror movies (go with Rio, increases Courage)
 * nature documentaries (go with Saori, increases Charm)
 * (no invitation on August 20)
 * "tear-jerkers" (go with Theo, increases Charm)
 * French films (go with Bebe, increases Academics)
 * movies about the origin of modernism (go with Ikutsuki, increases Academics)
 * "Willpower!" series (go with Yukari, increases Academics)
 * "chop-socky" movies (go with Akihiko, increases Academics)
 * the last episodes of the popular serial, "True Battles of Real Men" (go with Koromaru, increases Courage)
 * American action movies (go with Junpei, increases Charm)
 * ninja movies (go with Aigis, increases Academics)
 * hard science fiction movies (watch with Fuuka, increases Charm)
 * classic romances (go with Mitsuru, increases Academics)
 * superhero movies (go with Ken, increases Courage)
 * Second Term: September 1 - December 26
 * Holidays: Respect for the Aged Day (September 21), National Holiday, (September 22), Autumnal Equinox (September 23), Health & Sports Day (October 12), Labor Thanksgiving Day (November 23), Emperor's Birthday (December 23)
 * School Culture Festival (September 19)
 * This got cancelled because of a typhoon that hit during the afternoon of September 18. You'll get sick for 2 days since you got drenched in the rain.
 * Film Festival (September 23)
 * Incredible Pet Stories series (go with Shinjiro, increases Courage)
 * Midterm Exams (October 13 - 17) - middle of October, lasts for 5 days
 * Exam results were posted on October 19
 * Excursion Trip to Kyoto (November 17 - 20 morning)
 * Career Experience Week (November 24-27)
 * Final Exams (December 14 - 19) - middle of December, lasts for 6 days
 * Exam results were posted on December 21
 * Winter Break: December 27, 2009 - January 7, 2010
 * New Year's Eve (December 31)
 * Ryoji visits the dorm before midnight. Depending on the player's choices, you can land either the "Bad Ending" or max the social link of the Fool Arcana and get level 1 of the Judgement Arcana.
 * New Year's Day (January 1)
 * SEES will visit Naganaki Shrine to pray, with the girls seen wearing kimonos.
 * Third Semester: January 8 - March 5
 * Holiday: Coming of Age Day (January 11)
 * College Entrance Exams (January 16)
 * Yukari mentions once you come back to the dorm that the seniors took their exams despite all the commotion about the Fall.
 * Career Counseling Day (January 25)
 * During After School, you will meet with Ms. Toriumi to discuss your plans for the future. You will be asked if you plan to go to college/university or enter the workforce upon graduating. Then she will compliment you for maturing over the course of the year and ask what what has helped to bring about this change: various encounters, losing a loved one, or responsibility.
 * Graduation Day (March 5)

Gekkoukan School Store
In the lobby of Gekkoukan High School, there is a school store that carries different items everyday. List of Items:
 * Fried Bread - ¥80 (F/Sa)
 * Crab Bread - ¥80 (Th/F/Sa)
 * Melon Bread - ¥100 (W/Th/Sa)
 * Tri Korone (Apple Strudel) - ¥100 (M/Tu/Sa)
 * Fried Soba Bread (Yakisoba Bread)- ¥120 (M/Sa)
 * Cutlet Sandwich - ¥300 (Tu/W/Sa)
 * Book Cover - ¥5,000 (M/Tu/W/Th/F/Sa)

Extra-Curriculars
Gekkoukan High School offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities usually done after classes:

Clubs
The protagonist can become a member of more than 1 club, by virtue of talking and being invited by the Club Leader. Club activities happen After School and you can join in a club's activity by talking to the Club Leader or going to dedicated club rooms. Mr. Ekoda mentioned that starting a club needs a minimum of 5 members, though Fuuka was still able to make the Cooking Club an "unauthorized" one (which implies that the Fashion Club is also an unauthorized). ''Note: Shuji Ikutsuki mentioned once that, on paper, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) is classified as a school club. They are omitted in the list since they don't meet during After School to do club activities (and presumably since it is just a ruse for SEES to be able to operate more freely with less suspicion).''

Sports Teams
While sports teams are still considered a "club", the protagonist can only be a member of 1 sports team, by virtue of talking and being invited by the Team Captain/Manager of the sports team. Practices are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

In the case of the Female Protagonist, on July 25, Ms. Kanou will approach you in the classroom After School before the start of Summer Break. She informs you of a fellowship on August 1-2 at Yasoinaba High School, a school by the countryside. In preparation for this, from August 27-31, the protagonist is mandated to attend a whole-day special training (you only get free-rein on Evenings). You only get to enjoy the Summer Break fully by August 3.

School Committees
This is available for the Female Protagonist only. Unlike Clubs and Sports Teams where she'll be invited to join, School Committees are a requirement for all its students (which is the case for Japanese high school students) and she can only be a member of 1 committee. As Home-room advisor of the class, Ms. Toriumi will approach the protagonist after a few weeks to select what School Committee she plans to join. Committee meetings and duty happen during Tuesdays and Thursdays.

12th Grade - Seniors

 * Akihiko Sanada
 * Shinjiro Aragaki

Class 3-D

 * Mitsuru Kirijo

11th Grade - Juniors

 * Hidetoshi Odagiri
 * Nozomi Suemitsu
 * Andre Laurent Jean "Bebe" Geraux: International (French) Transfer student.
 * Keisuke Hiraga
 * Yuko Nishiwaki
 * Rio Iwasaki (Portable only)
 * Natsuki Moriyama
 * Saori Hasegawa (Portable only)

Class 2-E (Mr. Ekoda's class)

 * Fuuka Yamagishi

Class 2-F (Ms. Toriumi's class)

 * Male Protagonist / Female Protagonist (Portable only): Transfer student
 * Yukari Takeba
 * Junpei Iori
 * Aigis: Transfer student
 * Ryoji Mochizuki: Transfer student
 * Kazushi Miyamoto
 * Kenji Tomochika

10th Grade - Sophomores

 * Chihiro Fushimi

Known Faculty

 * Ms. Isako Toriumi: Composition, Home-room Advisor - Class 2-F, Advisor(?) - Student Council
 * Mr. Ono: History (Japanese)
 * He has an obsession on the Sengoku era and all things samurai, as evidenced by his katana-shaped external drive and his samurai helmet.
 * Mr. Takenozuka: Physics
 * Ms. Ounishi: Science, Club Advisor - Library Committee
 * Mr. Ekoda: Classic Literature (Japanese), Home-room Advisor - Class 2-E
 * He comes off as very nationalistic and tends to regard others lowly.
 * Emiri Kanou: Economics, Club Advisor - (Tennis/Volleyball) Sports Club
 * She's the focus of Kenji Tomochika's Social Link, where it is revealed that she will eventually change schools in order to move in with her newly wedded husband.
 * While interacting with Maya in the online game Social Link, the protagonist learns that Ms. Kanou pads her bra in order to increase her bust size.
 * If playing with the female protagonist in Portable, she seems largely inattentive towards her duties to Rio's sports club.
 * Mrs. Terauchi: English / Japanese
 * During her lectures, she will always bring up her missionary husband whom she dotes on.
 * During the start of January, she will mention that she is moving to India since his husband is being relocated there.
 * Ms. Miyahara: Mathematics
 * She comes off as easily distracted and careless when it comes to getting her mathematical computations, though she shows a deep appreciation of numbers and mathematical forumulae.
 * Mr. Edogawa: "Integrative Learning", School Nurse, Club Advisor - Health Committee
 * During the 5th day of the Summer Classes, he announces that he will give "supplementary lessons" of his courses at the Nurse's Office starting in the Second Term.

Trivia

 * The school's logo is reminiscent of the logo of the car manufacturer Bavaria Motor Works, or BMW. This would be repeated in Persona 4 for the Yasogami High School, where its logo is similar to the logo of Mercedes Benz, albeit upside down. Art Director Shigenori Soejima, however, stated that this was unintentional.
 * The Center tile in the Main Lobby (1st Floor) can be also seen on Thebel and Monad. You can see it in the intersections of the dungeon.
 * In Persona 4, Yasogami High School takes a field trip to Gekkoukan.
 * In Persona 4 Golden, the Gekkoukan uniforms are unlockable costumes for the Investigation Team.
 * If a member of the Investigation Team is wearing a Gekkoukan uniform after a battle, they will perform a victory pose similar to a character from Persona 3.
 * The school's name "Gekkoukan" translates to "Moonlight Hall".