Persona (concept)



A Persona is a manifestation of a Persona User's personality in the Persona series, referred to as a "mask" for an individual to use to face hardship.

A Persona is similar to a Shadow. Shadows are malevolent manifestations of one's inner thoughts, while a Persona is a manifestation of the same feelings but tamed and trained.

If an individual takes up a resolution in their heart, the Persona will undergo a metamorphosis into a stronger form.

While the summoning sequences of a Persona differs from one installment to the next, a tradition that later adaptions follow is that blue-ish fogs are always released when a Persona is invoked.

A fight using Personas weighs the user's mind and spirit. Continuous use of a Persona will eventually drain the user's strength and stamina. Using Persona skills requires "SP" or "Spirit Points".

In the depths of human hearts, shared with all people, there is a domain where mythological archetypes dwell, and they grant an influence over an individual’s personality development. Anecdotes of mythological divinities the world over probably exist because of that, so one could say that gods and demons exist not in Heaven and Hell but in the hearts of humanity. Personas even have an influence on physical and mental abilities, making their users superhumans, for example giving them mastery over weapons or resistance to terror and madness.

Megami Ibunroku Persona


At the beginning of the game, the main characters play a game called "Persona." Afterwards they fall unconscious and meet Philemon, who gives them the power to use Personas. Each character's Persona "awakens," and then is able to be called out at will. Some characters had not seemed to have met Philemon, but could summon Persona anyways. It can be assumed that this is due to Maki Sonomura's dreamworld, which was created by the DEVA System.

Unique to this game, the Personas that can be equipped are not determined by the character's level, but by their "Persona Level," which accumulates experience at a different rate than the character experience; invoking a Persona gives more experience to the Persona Level than using weapons or firearms. Despite this, Persona creation is tied to the protagonist's Character Level, and a Persona cannot be created if its level is more than 10 levels above his; additionally some Personas can only be created using a Totem, and the most powerful Personas also require specific demons' spell cards to create. Personas themselves do not level up, but grow as their Rank increases from being invoked a specific number of times in combat.

Persona 2


Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment features a similar mechanic to Megami Ibunroku Persona, in which the main characters meet Philemon, who bestows upon them the ability to summon Personas. Each time the character summons a Persona, it costs a flat amount of SP regardless of the spell used, dictated by the affinity between the user and the Persona. Characters with the "Worst" affinity with a Persona simply cannot equip it. Better affinity with a Persona has a few advantages: the SP cost is lower and there is a higher chance of triggering mutations, which in Eternal Punishment includes a higher chance of unlocking a Persona's Unknown Power.

The Level and stats of the Persona are static, but they gain Rank gradually when they are summoned in battle (rather than using healing or support spells out of battle). A Persona learns new spells as it reaches higher ranks, plus one more "mutation spell" only obtainable via mutation after it has reached at least rank 6. After reaching Max Rank, a Persona's stats can continue to grow via mutation as well.

Personas which are not bestowed by Philemon directly are created in Velvet Room by spending certain amount of Tarot Cards of the same Arcana as the target Persona. Some Personas additionally require a Material Card to create. Before confirming the creation, the player can also add a Skill Card and/or an Incense Card to slightly enhance the Persona. The player can create any Persona up to 5 levels higher than any party member of the highest level with the only consequence of requiring more SP to cast any spell from that Persona.

Persona 3


In order to summon a Persona, one must use an Evoker, though there are some cases where an Evoker is not required for summoning. A Persona can actually be artificially created, but because the Persona does not come naturally to its artificial user, it becomes violent and difficult to control; if the Persona-user isn't strong enough to hold back the Persona, it may even wind up killing the host. Artificial Personas can be suppressed by certain drugs, aptly named Suppressants, but use of the drugs causes fatal side-effects. It's possible for one to have the power of the Wild Card, meaning that multiple Personas can be contained simultaneously. The only two seen capable of this power are the silent protagonists and Aigis. Personas can no longer be summoned or equipped if their level is higher than the protagonist's.

During The Answer chapter of Persona 3 FES, Metis reveals that Personas are tamed Shadows.

Philemon does not appear in Persona 3, but there are several references to him, namely a fluttering blue butterfly that can be seen several times throughout the game.

In Spring of Birth, when the user's stamina is used up too much, they can no longer summon a Persona unless they take a rest or until they are healed.

Persona 4


When one enters the Midnight Channel, one's innermost secrets that they actively try to surpress materialize and become a Shadow Self which attempts to get its host to accept it. If one cannot accept the Shadow Self, or if they refuse to acknowledge what they want to keep hidden most, the Shadow becomes enraged, attracting all nearby lesser Shadows to itself and transforming into a monster which attempts to kill the person it spawned from. If one can face oneself and admit to what the Shadow Self says, then the Shadow transforms into a Persona loyal to its user.

Igor later reveals that a Persona is formed by having one's ego master its Shadow, but adds that it is also possible for a Shadow to become a Persona-user by developing its own ego (like in the case of Teddie). As Teddie is the only known Shadow to be able to use a Persona, this possibility is extremely rare at best.

In the anime, rather than summoning it only for spells, Personas do all of the fighting against the Shadows. But when the Persona takes damage, so does its user and a very weakened Persona will start to show a bit of static in its body. In addition, when Yu fuses his Persona (aided subconsciously by Igor), he does it on the spot.

Persona 4 Arena
The use of Personas and their existence in the world is explored more in the game. Members from the original SEES group form the "Shadow Operatives," under control of the Kirijo Group, working under Mitsuru Kirijo, who partner with public safety officers on cases involving Shadows. Personas and Shadows are shown to be known by higher-ranking officials and are kept secret from public knowledge. It is now shown the Personas are still able to be summoned in the regular world even after the Dark Hour disappeared, but also requires the use of an Evoker. However, it can be summoned without one during crisis or with extreme concentration.



The Tarot Cards the Investigation Team use seem to be of little use in the real world as the members are shown to be unable to summon their Personas outside the TV World, like Rise once mentioned in Persona 4. The TV World, however, helps those who have summoned Personas beforehand, making it much easier than before, to the point where the use of an Evoker isn't necessary to summon one; Mitsuru expresses surprise at only having to think of her Persona to bring it out.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax also showed that a Support Persona can become a Combat Persona if the user displays a strong resolve to fight. Rise Kujikawa achieves this with Himiko due to her desire to save her friends during the evens of Ulitmax.

Persona 4 Dancing All Night
Rise further displayed the ability to morph her Persona into other forms by using the power of Kanamin Kitchen's positive energy and acceptance of their Shadow Selves to transform Himiko into a grand stage for their final battle against Mikuratana-no-Kami.

Persona 5
In Persona 5, Personas are formed by individuals who find themselves in the Metaverse who are dealing with feelings of frustration of being wronged or taken advantage of. Should the person decide to rebel and take revenge, their Persona calls out to them, forming a mask on their face. Ripping this mask from their face formalizes their contract, causing their Persona to take form. The experience of mask ripping is particularly painful as the area where the mask was is covered in blood, literally ripping off the mask that clouds their judgement by making them to accept their fate. Once the contract has been formed, the person receives a special thief suit specially made to suit their tastes and the mask becomes a normal mask that they can freely take off without pain and serves as the conduit for their Persona abilities.

Futaba Sakura is the lone exception to the process as she does not unmask herself like the others. Instead, she confronts her Shadow Self much like how the Persona 4 characters obtained their Personas. Like the others though, she gains a mask and a special thief suit. Haru Okumura also shows that a person can access their Persona by feeling rebellious, but their Persona is not at its full power. As noted by Morgana, Milady's power was not nearly strong enough to fight alongside the other Phantom Thieves until Haru fully accepted rebelling against her father. Milady affirmed this by stating that she could fully unleash her full power during Haru's awakening.

Persona -trinity soul-
Everyone possesses a Persona, but only those who have summoned it before and know of its existence may call it out by will by concentrating one's mind. Personas that have consumed other Personas will be more unstable and will need Persona suppressors to keep their Personas under control. Although -trinity soul- is supposed to take place in relation with Persona 3, evokers are never used and summoning Personas is an easier task than it was in the game on which this anime was based.

The anime also states that a person's ability to summon Persona weakens as they reach adulthood and may need to take medicine to keep up that ability. This, however, contradicts with Persona 1 and Persona 2 as the rest of the adult cast can summon their Personas without any issue. One character speculates that this may simply be due to adults tending to lose their strong sense of identity as they grow older, and that it's not inherently about age, but personality. Despite that, however, this is one of the reasons that Persona -trinity soul- is not considered canonical to the series.

Awakening
The awakening of a Persona in someone with the ability to summon and command them can depend on several internal and external factors, but the most recurrent way in users is sudden danger or an emotional episode. In Megami Ibunroku Persona, Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, the main casts are confronted by threats from demons or other Personas, which fully activate their Persona abilities and allow them to defend themselves. An example of an emotional awakening is with Kei Nanjo, who sees his retainer Yamaoka mortally wounded by demons. Danger may be deliberately placed before the characters to prompt their awakening, as in Eternal Punishment where JOKER summons demons and forces Maya Amano, Ulala Serizawa and Katsuya Suou to awaken to their Personas.

In Persona 3, Persona awakenings depicted in the game show that a sudden danger prompted them to appear. Mitsuru Kirijo had joined her father in an expedition into Tartarus, and when he was attacked by Shadows she awakened to Penthesilea. Similar happenings occur with Akihiko Sanada, Junpei Iori, Yukari Takeba, Ken Amada and Koromaru. An exception is Fuuka Yamagishi, who awoke to her Persona naturally when she wanted to protect others. The protagonist's power was awakened through a combination of danger, his contract with Igor and some strange prompt from the boy Pharos. Persona 3 also mentions that Persona users must have the "potential."

Persona 4 shows awakening in a slightly different way. While the protagonist Yu Narukami awakens to his Persona ability when attacked by Shadows, the other members of the Investigation Team are faced with their berserk Shadow Selves, which must be defeated and accepted before they transform into Personas.

In Persona 5, each Persona awakening is triggered by the user facing against some detested fate or person, such as Ryuji Sakamoto facing down his rival and tormentor Suguru Kamoshida - each member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts makes a resolve to stand against their oppressors. Each time, the process is traumatic: the user is wracked with pain as their Persona speaks from within them, their eyes turn yellow and a mask appears on their face. The mask must be physically ripped from their faces, leaving bloody markings around their eyes until the Persona appears, erupting with a burst which can kill nearby enemies.

In virtually every case of awakening since Persona 3, the process is physically and mentally exhausting, with the newly-awakened user needed to rest away from the field of battle for a time.

Loss of Control


While Philemon describes the Personas as reflections of a character's inner self, there have been many instances that a Persona has rebelled against their controller, though every recorded incident of this instance has been either due to the extremely risky procedure of artificial Persona awakening, or due to external factors.

In Persona 3, for example, Strega members must take medication to prevent losing control of their Persona and being killed by it. Strega, however, is a group of artificial Persona users. In Persona 3 The Movie, Shinjiro is strangled by his Persona Castor. Additionally, during Megami Ibunroku Persona, Takahisa Kandori loses control of his Persona and it possesses him, turning him into a demon. However, this was because his Persona was actually Nyarlathotep in disguise.

In Persona 4, Teddie mentions denying the Shadow's message once again when it has truly manifested as a Persona might cause said Persona to devolve into a Shadow and resume its vengeful mission. This is confirmed in Persona 4 Arena - according to the Malevolent Entity, a Persona will revert into a Shadow if its user experiences extreme psychological stress; if the restored Shadow is denied again, it will try to kill its former controller once again. It is also suggested that Shadows that have reverted from Personas are much more powerful due to its experience as a Persona. This reversion is also seen in Persona 4 The Animation, where Izanagi reforms as Shadow Yu, outlining how greatly he relied on his friends. Due to the nature of this occurrence, and how Yu Narukami was under a great deal of emotional stress during his fight with Margaret, this can be seen as supportive of the Malevolent Entity's remarks.

The Persona Game
In Megami Iburoku Persona and Persona 2, a ritual that appears in the form of a game, and incantation respectively.

In Megami Iburoku Persona, the "Persona" game starts with four participants in each of the four corners of a room facing inward, with the rest of the participants standing inside the room. One of the people in the corners will shout out something along the lines of "Persona, Persona, Please come here." (The come here part varies with each speaker). Then the first person walks to the right, till they're standing by the second person in a corner. Then that person repeats that action, ending up near the third and so on. The game ends when the fourth person reaches the spot the first was positioned at the start of the game.

In Persona 2, the game is called "Master Persona Incantation" which was rumored to let one see their future. However it is slightly different this time. All the participants would stand in a circle. Everyone would walk counterclockwise twice while shouting out "Master Persona, Master Persona, please come to us!" each time. Then one of the members would walk until they were behind the person in front, and then that person would walk. The cycle completes when the last person ends up at the first person's spot. A final shout of "Master Persona, Master Persona, please come to us!" finishes the incantation.

Persona list

 * List of Megami Ibunroku Persona Personas
 * List of Persona 2: Innocent Sin Personas
 * List of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Personas
 * List of Persona 3 Personas
 * List of Persona 3 FES Personas
 * List of Persona 3 Portable Personas
 * List of Persona 4 Personas
 * List of Persona 5 Personas
 * List of Persona Q Personas

Persona category

 * Persona Personas
 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin Personas
 * Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Personas
 * Persona 3 Personas
 * Persona 3 FES Personas
 * Persona 3 Portable Personas
 * Persona 4 Personas
 * Persona 4 Golden Personas
 * Persona 5 Personas
 * Persona Q Personas

Trivia

 * The Persona Game is based on one famous urban legend in Japan, "." The origin was about a group of five mountaineers stuck in a heavy blizzard. One member died and was buried. When the remaining four mountaineers reached a small abandoned house, they found there was nothing around for them to light a fire. In order to stay awake and survive the freezing night, they began an activity (performed in Persona) where each member stands in a corner and take turns walking counter-clockwise to tap the next person on the shoulder. The strange thing about this activity is that there should have been nobody standing in the first corner for the fourth person to tap, but this wasn't the case which led them to believe the mysterious fifth participant in the game was the ghost of their friend they had buried earlier.
 * In every Persona game except Persona 5, the Personas are summoned in the Velvet Room into the form of a Card; during fusion, Igor or the Velvet Room attendant fuses cards holding Personas into a new Persona, which also comes on the form of a card or is confined or changed into a card after being summoned.
 * In Persona 5, the sound effect accompanying a Persona summon has been changed from "" (flash) to "" (snap), implying that the characters have hit a breaking point of some kind, which results in the manifestation of their Persona.
 * The Guardian system from Shin Megami Tensei: if... serves as the basis of the Personas.