Shadow Rise



Shadow Rise is an enemy in Persona 4.

Appearances

 * Persona 4: Boss
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Boss
 * Persona 4 Arena Ultimax : Playable Character

Profile
Shadow Rise was created from Rise Kujikawa's dark feelings about not being able to identify her "true self." This Shadow manifested itself as a pole dancer, threatening to completely expose herself in front of the party in order to get them to "look at her", much to Rise's dismay. Rise denied the Shadow, and it became enraged, transforming into a technicolor monster dangling from a striptease pole with a fractal mirror as a face.

The party was unable to defeat the monster, as its Supreme Insight technique prevented them from landing any hits. The group came close to meeting their demise at the hands of this Shadow, but Teddie stepped in at the last second and defeated it by exerting all his energy, thus "deflating" him. The Shadow reverted to its more human state, where Rise accepted it. Shadow Rise transformed into Rise's Persona, Himiko, which was used almost immediately after its creation as Shadow Teddie surfaced.

Persona 4 The Animation
In the anime, Shadow Rise appears in Episode 10. She creates many Rises, each with a different personalities originating from the original Rise to torment her. Then, she uses a pole as a cannon to target the Investigation Team's multiple weaknesses.

Symbolism
As the other Shadows, Shadow Rise represents the reverse of the characters arcana, this being the Lovers. Those who are reversed lovers represent false love, emotional loss, being unable to forget the past, and feeling helpless. False love is clearly shown through the idea of a stripper, exposing herself trying to make others love, but others only love what they see. The Lovers Arcana is about true love, not forced or lustful love. Emotional loss stems from her quitting the showbiz career; though she hides it she deep down misses the attention.

Furthermore Rise feels that she is haunted by her past of fame, being unable to escape from it, and because of this she will never be able to live a normal life. Shadow Rise's ability to use scan at the end of the battle suggests Rise's desire to be seen for more than just her outside, she wants people to see everything about her, not just the idol.

Finally, the Lovers arcana is commonly associated with choice, with a crucial decision to make. Therefore, the reversed Lovers card represents making the wrong choice and choosing an easy escape route instead of choosing wisely. Rise escaped from showbiz though she liked it, and she has trouble admitting that she made the wrong choice.

Strategy
The fight with Shadow Rise is one of the easier Shadow fights in the game, as it really only serves as a warm-up for the upcoming fight with a more daunting Shadow. The battle begins with the creature casting low-level magic spells at individual party members. The Shadow has no strengths or weaknesses, so any means of inflicting damage at this point will suffice. After about a third of Shadow Rise's HP has been depleted, she'll start using Mind Slice, which may cause confusion, but it shouldn't be much a problem. After two thirds of her HP is gone, Shadow Rise will use Supreme Insight. At this point, no attack can touch her, so it's best to either guard for the remainder of the battle or simply attack in vain. The battle ends after three turns have gone by with Supreme Insight in effect, and the party's HP and SP are automatically restored for the next battle.

If the player somehow manages to deplete all of Shadow Rise's HP quickly enough, Shadow Rise will not die, and simply transition to using Supreme Insight at her first opportunity.

Battle Quotes

 * "I am a shadow ... The true self ... And now, the moment you've been waiting for! It's time for me to show you every last inch of myself! Heehee ... And for our guests in the front row ... I'll give you extra-special, extra-intense service!"
 * Yosuke: "Looks like she had issues of her own after all ... but we'll stop her from going berserk!"
 * Kanji: "So I was like this too? Oh man!"
 * "Take a look!"
 * "Ohhh!"
 * More! More!
 * "Look at me..."
 * "Feast your eyes!"
 * "Oh? You're going to rush the stage? What an ill-mannered guest..."
 * "Maybe you're looking for an experience that's a little more intense!?"
 * "Ahahaha! Enjoying yourself? I've got a ways to go until I show you my true self ... You ain't seen nothin' yet!" (Mind Slice)
 * "No touching allowed. Ahaha!" (Supreme Insight)
 * "I can see everything about you ... Ahaha!"
 * "What...? I dealt all that exquisite pain and you're still not satisfied? What a finicky guest..."
 * "You might as well die then!" (Supreme Insight)
 * "Woohoo...! Analysis complete!"
 * "Okay, here comes my counterattack! See if you can dodge, hmm?"
 * "Okie dokie, here we go again!"
 * "Ehee, looks like you're having fun, how long will it last?"
 * "Hmm, looks like you're not satisfied yet!"
 * "I think you need severe punishment!"
 * "Wanna see the real me? Ehehe..."
 * "How insolent!"
 * "The real me isn't like this!"
 * "This can't be!"
 * "How's this? Will it satisfy you?"
 * "Will this make you happy?"
 * "Argh!" (unused death quote?)
 * "Ngh ... How? Die, you bastards, die!" (If HP is depleted to the point where Shadow Rise would normally be defeated)
 * "Goodbye ... forever!" (Battle then becomes unwinnable; scripted)
 * ".....!? This high energy reading ... Is it coming from that weird thing...!?" (Refers to Teddie)