Yu Narukami

The Protagonist of Persona 4 begins the game by moving to Yasoinaba. Similar to Tatsuya Suou of the Persona 2 dualogy, he wields two-handed swords as his primary weapon. However, he is incapable of using alternative weapons, in contrast to the Protagonist of Persona 3. As the leader of the Investigation Team, the protagonist becomes deeply involved in the serial murder cases in the Inaba region shortly after arriving in town to live with his uncle.

Appearances

 * Persona 4: Protagonist
 * Persona 4 Manga: Protagonist as Souji Seta
 * Persona 4 The Animation: Protagonist as Yu Narukami
 * Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena: Playable Character as Yu Narukami
 * Persona 4: The Golden: Protagonist

Design
The protagonist has short, bowl-shaped gray hair with matching gray eyes and is only one head shorter than Kanji. At school and in the Midnight Channel, he wears the school uniform of Yasogami High and wears gray glasses in battle. Additionally, he wears his lighter uniform in summer. On days off, he is shown wearing a black jacket and gray turtleneck shirt along with black pants.On days off in the summer, he wears a white collar shirt with short sleeves, and brown pants. At the school festival while cross dressing, he uses a female uniform with black leggings as well as a wig with long, gray pigtails. The protagonist also has a black blazer which he occasionally is seen wearing in the manga adaption of the game.

During scenes with the basketball team in Persona 4 the Animation he wears Yasogami Highs black basketball uniform and his casual outfit during practice consists of a light blue tanktop and black shorts with yellow lines on the bottom. At home he only wears a different colored version of his casual clothes, unlike in the game where he is shown in his uniform while at home.

In Persona 4: The Golden during the newly added Halloween event, he dresses as a magician, wearing a huge black top hat, a white chemise along with black suspenders and black pants.

Personality
Following with the tradition of the Shin Megami Tensei series, he is a silent protagonist (though, as with protagonist of Persona 3, he does technically speak when summoning a Persona), where his name and personality is decided and portrayed by the player's in-game actions and decisions.

In Persona 4 The Animation, he is depicted as quiet and polite. He has a dry sense of humour, and sometimes does questionable things which he thinks are funny. Before the awakening of his Persona, Yu seems to be emotionless and cold at times. Afterwards, however, he is known to value the bond of friendship between the members of the Investigation Team and is highly concerned about his friends.

Persona 4

 * Date of Birth: Unknown, 1994
 * Zodiac: Unknown
 * Height: 180 cm (5'11")
 * Blood Type: Unknown
 * Initial Persona: Izanagi
 * Ultimate Persona: Izanagi-no-Okami
 * Weapons: Two-Handed Sword
 * Arcana: Fool, World



The Protagonist first appears in the Velvet Room, which is shown in a first person point of view. There he encounters Igor and his assistant, Margaret. Igor to read the Protagonists future, and asks him his name, giving players the chance to name him. Igor remarks that a mystery awaits the Protagonist, and that it is his fate to discover it. Igor would then introduce Margaret, and bid farewell to the Protagonist. The Protagonist later awakens from his subconscious, and reminiscences about his old school prior leaving.

Upon reaching Yasoinaba, the Protagonist meets up with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima, who introduces his daughter, Nanako Dojima to the Protagonist. On the way back to the Dojima residence, Dojima stops by the gas station to refill his car, and the Protagonist is welcomed by an attendant of the Moel Gas Station, who offers him a job in the Gas Station. Before they drive off, the attendant gives the Protagonist a handshake. Shortly after the Protagonist begins to feel somewhat sick, but dismisses it as carsickness as they go on their way.

Later, after the Protagonist falls asleep, he awakens in a fog-ridden area. There, he hears a voice, telling him to follow it if he wishes to find the truth. The Protagonist eventually encounters a human presence, but the heavy fog makes it impossible to see the other person. The voice claims to be intrigued by the Protagonist, and decides to lend him his power for the time being. The next day, the Protagonist enrolls into Yasogami High School and befriends Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi. The Protagonist befriends Yosuke Hanamura the next morning after he helps him to get up from his bicycle accident.

Yosuke later invites the Protagonist to Yasoinaba's delicacy store as a sign of gratitude. However, he changes his plans when Chie overhears his invitation, and takes both the Protagonist and Chie to Junes' food court. He then reveals that his father is the manager of this particular Junes, and that Yosuke himself transferred in about a year back. Chie later tells the Protagonist and Yosuke about the urban legend of the Midnight Channel, and asks them to try it out. The Protagonist also meets Saki Konishi, an upperclassman and Yosukes senpai who is working at the Junes. Later in the night, the Protagonist tries to gain access to the Midnight Channel and sees a blurred image of a female student in his TV. Intrigued, the Protagonist touches the screen of his TV, and discovers that he can reach his hand inside the TV set. Much to his horror, the TV pulls him in, but he gets stuck because the TV screen was too small for his size. He manages to pull himself out, and accidentally knocks himself on the head.

The next morning, the Protagonist, Yosuke and Chie have a discussion about their discovery, and come to the conclusion that they all saw the same female student. The Protagonist tells Yosuke and Chie about how he was sucked in the TV, and the two assume it was a weird dream. Chie later tells them her family plans to buy a wide-screen TV, and asks Yosuke what he would recommend among the cheap sets that Junes carry. The trio go to the electronics department of Junes, and go over the TV sets on display. The Protagonist tries to re-enter the TV, this time, using a wide-screen TV large enough to insert his body in. Seeing the Protagonist stuck midway inside the TV, Yosuke and Chie try to hide him. Yosuke spies on a number of people approaching, panicking, he and Chie accidentally push themselves in the TV, and the three fall on the other side of the TV, the Midnight Channel.

Inside the Midnight Channel, the trio was shocked to see their surroundings, and begin to panic. The trio anxiously tries to find the entrance from which they came, but failing to do so, they decided to check around the area. In their exploration, they find a room with a noose and a stool, covered with posters of a woman wearing a kimono. However, all the faces on the posters are ripped off. At this point, everyone begins to feel a bit sick, so they decide to head back the way they came. Eventually, they encounter a Bear, who urges them to leave the television world. The trio confesses their inability to doing so, and losing his patience, the bear summons three TVs, and promptly pushes them into the TVs, forcefully ejecting the trio out of the Midnight Channel.

The next day, during an assembly from the school reveals that Yosukes senpai Saki Konishi passed away by a violent accident. Devastated, Yosuke swears to investigate the Midnight Channel, and they conclude that the female student they witnessed on the Midnight Channel must have been Saki Konishi. Yosuke requests the Protagonist to help him, as he is the only one who is able to enter the TV. The Protagonist and Yosuke enter the Midnight Channel one more time, leaving the Chie behind. Inside the Midnight Channel, the Protagonist and Yosuke once again encounter the bear, who introduces himself as Teddie. Infuriated by their presence, Teddie angrily asks them whether are they responsible of "throwing people" inside the Midnight Channel. Upon learning that the Protagonist and Yosuke aren't responsible, Teddie makes the pair promises to help find the culprit, and gives them a pair of glasses, allowing them to see through the fog in the Midnight Channel.



During their investigation, the Protagonist and Yosuke are ambushed by Shadows. The Protagonist hears a voice, calling out to him to awaken his true self, and he is presented with a tarot card. Crushing the card, the Protagonist awakens his initial Persona, Izanagi, and dispatch the Shadows. Bewildered by the Protagonist' ability, Teddie is intrigued by the Protagonist and comes to respect him, much to Yosuke's dismay.

The Protagonist and Yosuke would later end up in Saki Konishi's family liquor store. In there, they hear an inner voice of Saki expressing her hatred towards Yosuke. Surprised and devastated, another 'Yosuke' makes his entrance, and mocks Yosuke. Under Yosuke's continuous declination of his shadows taunts, the other 'Yosuke' transforms into a Shadow and attacks them. The Protagonist defeats the shadow and if forced to come to terms with his true feelings. This causes him to awaken his first Persona, Jiraiya. The Protagonist and Yosuke leave the Midnight Channel and are angrily scolded by a worried Chie in the real world.

Late in that night, the Protagonist tries to tune in the Midnight Channel once again, and encounters a blurry image of young woman in kimono. Yosuke concludes that it is an image of Yukiko Amagi, as the image shown is wearing the same kimono as Yukiko wore during a TV interview. To further complicate the issue, Yukiko hasn't been showing up to the school, and Chie becomes worried. Yukiko later reveals she's been busy helping out at her family inn and has been forced to skip school. However, still worried, Yosuke suggests the Protagonist to tune in the Midnight Channel tonight as well.

During that night, the Protagonist encounters a weird show called "Princess Yukiko's search for Prince Charming" in the Midnight Channel, where Yukiko dresses up as a princess in a journey of scoring herself a "hot stud", or prince charming. As Yukiko's behavior in the TV was rather bizarre and out of what she would normally do, Yosuke called the Protagonist, and suggests them to meet up in the Junes Food Court the next morning.

The Protagonist, along with Yosuke and Chie, eventually sets out to rescue Yukiko, and along their way Chie faces herself, and receives her own Persona. The Protagonist, Yosuke and Chie later founded the Investigation Team, a team dedicated to investigate the origins of the Midnight Channel and the bizarre murder cases.



Through the Investigation Teams' activity within the Midnight Channel, however, they all express the same question upon the Protagonist' latent talent of invoking his Persona without having to face his other self. As the story progress, the Protagonist would receive an anonymous threat letter telling him to stop his activities of saving people. Though the Investigation Team was worried, they've decided to continue watching the Midnight Channel, ignoring the letter's threat. The Protagonist eventually receives the threat after the Investigation Team continuously ignoring the threat, this time, the letter directly threatens the Protagonist that if he does not stop his actions, someone close to him will die.

The letter was later discovered by Ryotaro Dojima, and upon thinking about the Protagonist' possible connection with the recent chain of events, the Protagonist was detained in the Police station. Ryotaro eventually coerces the Protagonist to spend a a night in the police station. During Midnight, the Protagonist is shocked to see Nanako's silhouette in the Midnight Channel, who is revealed to be kidnapped. The Investigation Team eventually found out Nanako's kidnapper and the one sending the threat letters basing on bits of information salvaged by Ryotaro Dojima. The Investigation Team finds out the true murderer is actually Taro Namatame, the lover of the Mayumi Yamano, the first victim.

The Investigation Team eventually succeeds in saving Nanako, but Nanako's health began deteriorate critically after her exposure to the Midnight Channel. Unfortunately, Nanako inevitably falls into a coma. The Protagonist's decision on what to do with Namatame will determine whether she will wake up or die from the coma. The Investigation Team eventually manages to sneak in Namatame's ward. Grief ridden and devastated, the Investigation Team tries to kill Namatame by pushing him trough the his hospital room's TV. Depending on the Protagonist' decisions of dealing with Namatame, Nanako may die or awaken once again.

Bad Ending
If the player decides to find and kill Namatame after Nanako is hospitalized, Nanako will die. The Protagonist will then have to move back to his hometown, never finding the real culprit.

Normal Ending
In the Normal Ending, the Protagonist manages to calm down the Investigation Team, and points out his doubts about Namatame being the murderer. The Investigation Team eventually found out the murderer of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi is actually Tohru Adachi, who was also the one sending him the threat letters. Cornering him, the Investigation Team manages to defeat Tohru Adachi. However, after Adachi's defeat, it reveals that in actuality, Adachi was only playing a small role of the whole plan: He was controlled by a being named Ameno-sagiri, who plans to turn reality into a Shadow-ridden world. The Investigation Team eventually manages to defeat Ameno-sagiri, and proving humans' potential towards Ameno-sagiri, Ameno-sagiri promises to lift up the fog that has been infesting Yasoinaba, but exclaims that as long as humanity wishes for the fog to return, he will awaken once again. The Normal Ending ends with the Protagonist bidding a heartful farewell to his friends, and leaves Yasoinaba.

True Ending
The True Ending takes up following the events of Ameno-sagiri's defeat. Similar to the Normal Ending, the Protagonist decides to visit his friends one last time. Prior leaving the Dojima Residence, Nanako gives to Protagonist a letter. After bidding farewell to his friends, should the Protagonist decides to regroup the Investigation Team one last time in Junes unlocks the True Ending. In there, the Investigation Team become intrigued of Ameno-sagiri's last words of bestowing the others the power to venture into the Midnight Channel. However, since Adachi and Namatame did not face themselves, the Investigation Team eventually deducts that their powers came from the same source as the Protagonist.

The Protagonist later opens the letter received from Nanako earlier. It turns out that Adachi was the one who wrote to the Protagonist. In the letter, Adachi informs the Protagonist even though his game is over, there's still something he couldn't shake off, and it's up to the Protagonist to solve it.

The Investigation Team eventually realizes that Ameno-sagiri said that those who've awakened their powers are supposed to play their roles to override the world with shadows as well, meaning that there's actually a conductor behind it all, monitoring their actions within the bizarre murders and the Midnight Channel, and the conductor is the one who gave the Protagonist, Adachi, and Namatame their power to enter the TV as well as their Personas. Igor would later then tells the Protagonist that he is going to grasp a truth even his powers cannot predict, and he will play a role in assisting the Protagonist. Igor then gives the Protagonist the Orb of Sight, which erases lies and reveals the truth, playing an important part of the final boss fight.

Reminiscing his actions during his first visit to Yasoinaba, the Protagonist remembers the Gas Station Attendant, and eventually goes to visit her during the rain. In there, the Protagonist's power to invoke a Persona without facing himself is revealed: In actuality, the attendant took an interest in the Protagonist's potential, and decides to give his powers a little push through their handshake. The attendant also mentions that the Protagonist was not the only one she chose. Adachi, Namatame, and many others are awakened by her as well. She stirred the spark in the Protagonist so he could awaken other peoples' Personas as well, and fulfill their role as to overrun the world with shadows.

However, the Protagonist's power of the Wild Card is something the Attendant did not foresee, and her plans are foiled. The Attendant also reveals that Ameno-sagiri is actually birthed from an aspect of her, and asks the Protagonist is he not satisfied with his accomplishment yet. Chastising the Protagonist' greed to reach out for the truth, the Attendant finally reveals her true identity: The great goddess Izanami. Izanami then tells the Protagonist that since he is so determined to stop her, she shall await the Protagonist in the other world, but tells him that he should also have the preparation to accept his lost towards her as well.

In the Protagonist's final confrontation with Izanami, he discovers that Izanami isn't dying after depleting her HP to zero. Using the Orb of Sight, it's revealed that like in the myth, Izanami is already dead, as she loses her current form, and reveals her true form of a large skeletal corpse beast, revealing her true form, Izanami-no-Okami.

When Izanami-no-Okami is on the verge of being defeated, she tries to send the Protagonist to the underworld with her "Thousand Curses", but her attacks is repeatedly intervened by the Protagonist' comrades, each shielding him from harm. Witnessing the sufferings of his comrades falling under Izanami's "Thousand Curses", and subsequently falling to the curse himself, the Protagonist hears the voices of his friends, telling him to continue fighting on. Accumulating the power of the bonds he forged, the Protagonist channels the powers of his Social Links to his initial Persona, Izanagi, transmogrifying Izanagi into his true form, Izanagi-no-Okami. Enduring all of Izanami's assaults, the Protagonist ultimately summons Izanagi-no-Okami, defeating Izanami with one powerful strike, known as "Myriad Truths".

{C Upon Izanami's defeat, Izanami tell the Investigation Team that she will no longer interfere with humanity, and encourages them to live their lives with their own decisions, though she cannot ensure their happiness. Igor would later tell the Protagonist that due to his efforts, the fog within humanity's hearts has finally lifted, and tells them to see the bright future of the World he had created with his own eyes. The fog on the midnight channel then lifted, revealing a beautiful, peaceful land which Teddie remembers was once the world he lived in. The story ends with the Protagonist bidding a heartfelt farewell to his friends and leaves Yasoinaba; as the train leaves the station, the Protagonist pulls out a group picture of the friends that he spent his year in Inaba with whilst Teddie's voice is heard in the background, promising that someday they will meet again.

Persona 4 Manga
In the manga, his name is Sōji Seta (瀬多 総司, Seta Souji). In this portrayal he is depicted as being a distant, but otherwise friendly loner with a pessimistic outlook on life due to having to move frequently as a result of his parents' demanding careers.

Persona 4 The Animation
In the anime, he is given the name Yu Narukami (鳴上 悠, Narukami Yuu). It can also be assumed that he likes (or works with) origami as shown in the more recent trailer of the anime. He is shown recording many of the more embarrassing moments on the Midnight Channel such as with Kanji. Yu starts off wearing the Yasogami High School uniform like in the game, but in the most recent trailer he arrived in Inaba he wearing his winter clothes instead of his uniform.For much of the first episode he wears his uniform buttoned up like most students, but he unbuttons the jacket upon releasing Izanagi.

When he dreams of being within a foggy area, Yu hears a voice telling him to follow. However, he doesn't do so, only seeing a blurry human figure before the dream ends. When he, Yosuke, and Chie go inside of the TV world and encounter Kuma (Teddie), he gives Yu his glasses. They first encounter shadows during their first excursion into the Midnight Channel, as opposed to their second as in the game. Chie is knocked unconscious leaving just Yu and Yosuke. Yu then summons Izanagi for the first time, defeating the shadows.

Chie regains consciousness after the battle was over and the three of them are kicked out of the TV world by Kuma. Later at school, they discover that Saki Konishi had been murdered. Yosuke says that he thinks it was Saki in the TV during the Midnight Channel. The three of them meet at Junes where Yu decides to go with Yosuke into the tv world, leaving Chie alone at Junes. When Yu and Yosuke arrive in the TV world, they meet up with Kuma again. Kuma takes them to where Saki was and while there, they start hearing voices. Yosuke, angered by the voices, runs into the Konishi liquor store. He then hears Saki's voice and her feelings being expressed. Yosuke, confused by the whole situation, then meets other self. The other self then changes into a shadow and charges at Yosuke which forces Yu to use Izanagi for battle. The battle rages, with Yosuke still denying his other self, forcing Yu to hit him, to which Yu remarks "Oops, wrong person". Yosuke then comes to terms with his other self, weakening the shadow and allowing Izanagi to finish him off. They return to Junes to a upset Chie who states that the both of them will treat her to food to make up to her. They both reluctantly agree. While going home, Yu and Yosuke both agree to work together to solve and case.

When Yu, Yosuke, and Chie discover that Yukiko is gone, they set off to find her. Returning to the TV World, they arrive at her castle. Chie charges ahead, leaving Yu and Yosuke to deal with the Shadows that show up. When they reach Chie, they have to deal with her other self who has turned into a Shadow. During the battle, Yu remembers that his ability is unique for being like the number "zero", which he uses to change his Arcana to that of the Magician. He then switches Izanagi for Pyro Jack which leads to Yu and Yosuke teaming up for the final blow against Chie's shadow. Chie accepts her other self allowing to her gain her persona. The three then leave the TV World so that they can regroup and recover.

When Yu, Yosuke, and Chie reach Yukiko and her Shadow self ,Yu notices a chandelier falling toward Yosuke and Chie as Yu was trying to push them back but he also remember that he had obtained the Chariot Arcana and Persona are characterized by their strength, so Yu summons Ara Mitama to stop the chandelier from falling at them, but ends up taking a lot of damage (due to his persona's size) and switched his Persona to Izanagi to help Yosuke's Persona out of the chandelier and got stuck along Yosuke by the melted candles which unable it move before Yukiko's shadow transformation and unable help Chie when Yukiko's Shadow transform until from her flames make the candle waxed harder and able to break free.As the battle continues they are still unable to defeat Yukiko's shadow by the flames blocking them except Chie. As the shadow weakened Yu attacks with Yosuke and Chie to finish Shadow Yukiko and thus defeat her Shadow.

After they saved and rescued Yukiko, Chie asked Yu for a favor, which resulted in him being forced to join the basketball club as a new recruit (even though in the original game he can chose to be in basketball club or join the soccer club). When he was forced to be Ai's "boyfriend", as a result of Kou revealing that he likes Chie, he feels disturbed and awkward for ditching school as he spends time with Ai (usually he remains calm,and agrees with Ai like in the social links). During a basketball game, which Kou told Yu would be his last, Ai and Chie got into an argument forcing Yu to tell them to pay attention since it was Kou's last game. After the game, Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Kou, Ai, and Daisuke went to Aiya where Kou revealed that he was going to keep playing. Then as they were walking home, Ai told Yu that he no longer had to be her "boyfriend".

On May 1st, he meets Kanji Tatsumi at school before he shows up on the interview/media. He notices a stuff bunny keychain Kanji had dropped. A few days go by when his uncle comes back revealing that he brought him a swimsuit that is purple with a heart on it. He responds that he finds it "fashionable". Yu, Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko then decide to scout out Kanji. Yu and Yukiko were partnered up. While waiting, Yu and Yukiko conversed before Yu asked her for her contact information for the investigation. Yosuke and Chie then came running back with Kanji chasing them resulting into Yu and Yukiko also running. Later, Yu sees Kanji on the midnight channel and he can't believe what he just saw.

While they were searching for information about Kanji, they asked Kanji's mother about him. He then sees a boy who knows Kanji, holding the bunny keychain that he saw when he first met Kanji. He asks him if he can borrow it in order to find Kanji's location. As they reach the location, he and Yosuke refuse to go due to Kanji's outer and inner feelings. He even agrees with Yosuke to leave it be and run away thus leaving it to the girls. When his persona and Yosuke's persona got caught by the Tough Guy, they became subdued or grossed out but when Nice Guy touched his rear end, he passed out due to poison. Then he and rest of the members got caught by Shadow Kanji's attack. Yu however, protected Kanji as he regained consciousness but was injured from the blast. As he was starting to feel helpless he heard Igor and Margaret's word that it is time to use the true ability of the Wild Card. He then combined the Priestess and Magician Arcana to make Yamata no Orochi in order to defeat Shadow Kanji however, he let Kanji deal the final blow to his other self. After, when Kanji asks if he can join them in their investigation, Yu and his friends all eagerly agree to let him join.

When Yu and his friends go to the school camping trip, he tries Chie and Yukiko's homemade curry with a great deal of courage after Yosuke had passed out from eating it. He then too almost passes out after trying it. Chie and Yukiko eventually order from the Aiya restaurant for everyone. When there, he and Yosuke ask Kanji about Naoki Konishi. They learn that Naoki and Kanji were childhood friends. But Kanji got frustrated with answering questions about Naoki that he later returned, forcing Naoki with him. He then askes Naoki about his problem with no hesitation. Naoki is pleasantly surprised and they go on to eat together. Later at night, Chie and Yukiko arrive in his and Yosuke's tent after Kanji barged into their tent. At the last day of the school camp out, Yosuke had planned out a day for all of them to go swimming, even going as far as bringing swimsuits for Chie and Yukiko. When Chie and Yukiko come back after changing, he says both Chie and Yukiko look good in their swimsuits which causes them both to become very embarrassed and blush. But after Yosuke says a perverted comment, it causes the girls to push them into the water. Comically while falling, he doesn't seem to care falling with a blank expression while Yosuke seems to be enjoying it. But after he learns that Morooka is vomiting up the river, he becomes disgusted and shocked.

June 20, Yu met Rise when she dropped her cell phone with a ganmodoki cell phone strap and continues pursue her until they are at the elevator.Then on June 22 Yu was requested by Yukiko to stay with Rise while he and the others catch the "culprit". He seen to get along with Rise about her life as the former pop star that nobody will understand her real self. Then, as Yu saw her skill of making a paper airplane, he made an origami crane to show Rise, as she tries to copy what he made. Yu replied, "That's terrible", but apologized to her. On June 23, Yu looks surprised that Rise came to school as a transfer student in the first year class. Yu helps Rise to a different route to escape from media at the school entrance. As they got out from the gate he grabs Rise's hand and ran to Marikyu Tofu Shop, but the media is there. As Rise was in despair that she was replaced by another actor/pop star and ran away from Yu, for she accuses him for not "seeing the real her" as he worried and sorry her, even when he saw her at Midnight Channel that she already inside which he was surprised and serious.

Meanwhile in Episode 10 of Persona 4 The Animation, in the Velvet Room, Margaret claimed that even though Yu had collected many social link card, Yu will face a terrible ordeal, It means that it was so horrible that the combined strength of all his arcana's card may not have the power to stop it. June 23, Yu has seen Rise in the Midnight Channel and knew that Rise had been put into the other world. Yu was also stunned by Rise's commercial programmed about how Rise's shadow wanted to "reveal' herself. After the programmed had ended, Yu received a call from Yosuke. In the call, Yosuke was extremely excited about the Rise bare-it-all show cast. Yu got annoyed and told him to calm down. He also told Yosuke to meet with him on the next day in the TV world along with the others. (June 24) In the TV world, they met with Kuma, which reclaimed that he was very lonely. Yu immediately asked Kuma about Rise before Kuma started to mumble again. When they arrived at a strip club called Marukyu, Kanji argued that he can't see anything in the fog regarding he didn't wear the glasses. Kuma gave him a pair of glasses but actually it was a funny-looking glasses. Kanji get mad at Kuma after being humiliated and laughed by Yukiko. In the strip club, they found many Rises wore a lot of different clothes. Yosuke was extremely happy and been kicked by Chie in the head. Lastly, Rise's shadow appeared in front of them wearing a bikini suit.

After that, Rise's shadow become bored and decided to call out her special guest that is the real Rise Kujikawa. In order to stop Rise from saying "you're not me", Yu and his friends started to call upon their personas. But been stopped by the other shadows which can repel all elements attack. So, they divided to use only their physical attack. In the same time, Kanji had lose his funny glasses and tried to search for it when Kuma gave him a cool-looking glasses. Kanji immediately called upon his persona, Take-Mikazuchi, and beat all the shadows in a second, considering his power attack were more powerful than the other personas. As usual, Rise denied the presence of her own shadow when the shadow started to strip off. The Rise's shadow went to berserk and changed into a satellite head shadow. Rise tried to called Yu's name before she's going unconscious. Yu ordered Chie and Yukiko to protect Rise and Yukiko then ordered Kuma to take care of Rise. However, Rise's shadow can analyzed all of their persona's weaknesses and all of their attacks had been avoided by her. After a while, she began to counterattack. Rise's shadow hit Izanagi with Garu skill, Jiraiya with Zio skill, Tomoe Gozen with Agi skill, Konohana-Sakuya with Bufu skill and Take-Mikazuchi with Garu skill, all of their weaknesses. Yu and his friend were injured badly after the third attack. Before Rise's shadow began its final blow, Rise stopped her. The shadow decided to turn its attack to Rise but Kuma quickly stand in front of Rise and immediately charged towards the shadow with his sudden charged aura surrounding him. Rise's shadow was shocked because she can't analyzed Kuma's weakness and lost to Kuma. Rise began to understand and started to accept her shadow. She had obtained her persona, Himiko.

However, a new problem occurred when Kuma's shadow began to appear. Kuma's loneliness and all the questions who he was had cause the awaken of his shadow. Kuma's shadow had the ability to pull everything into his black hole and Kuma was absorbed into it. When Yu was trying to shield Rise, Rise asked him to hold Himiko for her so that she can analyze the shadow's weakness. Yu called upon his Izanagi and hold Himiko tightly. Meanwhile, Kuma's determination for not giving up had weaken his own shadow and gave the opportunity for Himiko to analyze its weakness, by the shadow's chest. Izanagi hit it and it was destroyed. Kuma gained his persona, Kintouki-Douji. After it all ended, Yu walked Rise to her home. Rise thanked him for saving her life and quickly hold Yu's arm, started to showing her interest towards Yu.

While meeting at the Chinese Diner Aiya, Aika serves Narukami and his friends the special "portal to the meat dimension" dish, although after 40 minutes they are not able to get through it. While at the Junes Food Court, Yosuke were called by the worker of the Junes that someone called 'Mr. Kuma wanted to see him and apparently their Kuma is there. As they sit at the food court and discussing the murders, Yukiko worries and asks, "If... the murders are solved and the culprit is caught, does... this mean this will be the last time we all get together like this?" The others seem a little downcast about it, but continue discussing the culprit and how to catch him or her while Yu shows a particularly pained and panicked expression at the idea that they'll no longer hang out after the case is closed. The asmosphere changes after Kuma wanted to open Teddie's costume and caused some panicked among them. But, suprisingly, Kuma reveal them about human form that inside him after the battle. Then, they dismissed the meeting and hurried to get Kuma some changes for him. Yu. Yosuke and Kanji headed to Rise home to checked on her condition. After some scene with the team, later, he is tasked to retrieve Teddie's head from the Junes food court when Yukiko realizes that they have left it behind.

While returning to the Investigation Team, Yu runs into Mitsuo, who is in the process of threatening Nanako after a perceived slight against him by a "rude brat" as he tells her he'll "show her what happens" when someone's rude to him, and interferes, putting Nanako behind him to protect her and gives Mitsuo a stern glare and asks him if there's something he can help him with. Mitsuo seems to consider fighting back, but is too intimidated by the taller Yu and takes off after muttering a nonsensical threat about "showing" him who was "in charge". Later that night, after getting into a heated debate and ignored on 2ch, Mitsuo vows that he'll bring attention to himself and destroys his room, heading to the police station to turn himself in. Naoto appears the following day at the Junes food court and informs them that the murderer has turned himself in, and comments that he no longer is on the case, but that he feels the Investigation Team should "stop playing games" and move on with their lives. Quite upset by the dismissive attitude of someone their age, each of the members of the Investigation Team angrily retort that they're not "playing" and that each of them has been affected personally by the murders and by the abductions on top of it. Rise takes the lead and angrily accuses Naoto of being the one to take the cases so lightly and treat them like it's nothing more than a big puzzle game to solve. Naoto, surprisingly, acknowledges the possibility that he might be treating it like one big game and heads off. Later that night, as the rain falls, Yu watches the clock and waits for it to be midnight, watching the television screen closely. Midnight strikes and the Midnight Channel appears with Mitsuo laughing maniacally and daring them to "come catch me, if you can". The screen goes dark as Yu's phone rings, Yosuke on the other line as Yu quietly tells them to meet up, they're going into the television. The episode ends with Yu hanging up his phone and grabbing his glasses off the table, preparing to head into the world inside the television.

With help from Rise and Himiko, the team is able to locate exactly where in the other world Mitsuo wound up, Teddie musing happily how much better of a "nose" Rise has than himself. Yosuke muses about Teddie being back in the mascot outfit and the two get into a squabble over what appearance is "most natural" before they head out. The Investigation Team heads to Mitsuo's dungeon; Void Game. Kanji and Chie are both fired up and ready to take Mitsuo down, furious with the baiting and taunting nature of Mitsuo's appearance in the Midnight Channel, with Chie declaring she sentences him to "a kick in the face" as a result. Yu is still deep in worried thought thanks to Yukiko's comment in the previous episode regarding their friendship status- and if they'll still hang out and meet up like they've been doing while the murders have gone unsolved. Teddie, expressing his displeasure at being forgotten about and left behind after he summons Kintoki-Douji for the first time to comically and clumsily fight off some of the shadows that appear, notices that Yu isn't listening and wonders if something is wrong with "Sensei". The Team overhears an argument between Mitsuo and Shadow Mitsuo and rush through the door. After the light fades, they see Mitsuo screaming at his Shadow as it does nothing but play a video game on a computer screen. Mitsuo rejects his Shadow, as per the norm, and the Shadow begins to power up. An abrupt flash of light suddenly takes us into the future and back to the Junes food court where the Investigation Team meets up and discusses Mitsuo's imprisonment and capture. As time goes by, Yuu watches as, one by one, he loses touch with each of the members of the Investigation Team; Yukiko becomes busier and busier with her family's inn business, Chie occasionally helps out and is busy studying for her tests, Kanji comments to Naoki that it feels strained to keep meeting up and do nothing, Rise's grandmother's tofu shop closes up and Rise moves away without a word- her number is disconnected when Yu tries to call her. Yosuke comments that girls are frightening with their ability to just run off without saying anything and shrugs it off, saying it figured that they were the only ones who considered themselves friends and heads off. After a meeting between the team is cancelled, as no one is able to show up due to conflicting plans, Yu is left in the Junes Food Court alone as Yosuke lets him know he's "done with that otherworld crap" and that he has to think about college and running the Junes business instead before heading back to work.

Later during the rainy night, Yu watches the clock and turns to his TV, hoping to see the Midnight Channel on once it strikes midnight. When nothing happens, he gets up and tries to enter through the television in his bedroom, finding that his fingers hit nothing but glass. Yu hears a sound and turns, suddenly faced with Shadow Mitsuo as he emerges from the darkness of the room. Shadow Mitsuo informs him that he's "empty, like me" and that friendship is nothing but an illusion; he is nothing and no one is there. Yu tries to summon his Persona one after another, watching as the cards remain blank and shatter, summoning nothing as the bonds he's worked to create have vanished on him. Trying one last time in desperation, Yu watches the card refuse to shatter- instead turning to crumpled paper in his hand as he lowers his head in shock. Shadow Mitsuo advances on Yu and reaches out for him, Yu denying that he's empty and backs away in fear before Shadow Mitsuo's hands lock around his throat and begin strangling him. As his vision begins to fade and Yu starts to give up, he sees a vaguely green light appear above Shadow Mitsuo's head and hears Yosuke's voice calling out to him, calling him "Yu" instead of "Narukami" for the first time and urging him to reach out and take his hand. Weakly, Yu reaches out and Yosuke catches his arm, pulling him out of the despair filled illusory world that Shadow Mitsuo had pulled him into after exploiting Yu's doubt and worry over losing his friends.

Back among his friends and touched by their concern, Yu reassures them that he's okay and turns angrily to Shadow Mitsuo, declaring that he is not empty and begins rapid-fire summoning all of the Persona he's collected thus far. With the help of the Investigation Team, Yu is able to finish off Shadow Mitsuo and stands beside them as Mitsuo awakens and returns to the world outside the television, and thus handed over to the police. Time goes by to the weekend and the Investigation Team is at the Dojima residence having a rice omelette contest between Yukiko, Chie, Rise and Yu with Nanako and the others as the judge. Yukiko's is said to have no flavor, in which her protest runs along the lines of "your palate isn't refined enough to appreciate it!", Chie's is said to be absolutely "nasty", where she protests and says that it has to be better than Rise's as Yukiko starts one of her infamous laughing fits about how it truly is "nasty", and Rise's proves to be a "down in one hit", as Yukiko collapses from the taste, much to Chie's alarm and Rise's claim that they're "too childish to appreciate the taste". Nanako, as a judge, eats a bite of each of the girls' omelettes and reassures each girl that their omelette is "good", with a bit of a struggle over Rise's and adds that it's "good... but definitely a little spicy". Yosuke taunts the girls and takes a bite of Yu's, pausing and exclaiming that Yu's is the best he's ever had, and then teases Yu for being a "guy with too much talent". Nanako looks flustered and quickly scrambles to take a bite of Yu's omelette, her expression lighting up as she declares that it's the best she's ever had, and that it's "really, really good!" Nanako and Teddie make a promise after Nanako realizes that Teddie is sad about having to go home, despite not knowing where that is, and has him promise to come play with her so he doesn't have to leave. Happily agreeing, the two make the pinkie promise and end it just in time to hear Yosuke calls Yu by his first name again as he and the others decide to make plans for the summer festival coming up and to spend summer vacation together as a team, something that the others quickly agree to because they're all friends and that's just "what friends do", something that surprises Yu and causes him to tentatively try calling Yosuke by his first name in return after happily agreeing to making plans. Nanako seems surprised and comments on Yosuke's behavior, causing Yosuke and Yu to look at each other and laugh as Teddie tries to figure out what they're talking about and causes Yosuke no small amount of irritation with his persistent questioning. The episode ends with Yu smiling happily over his friends as they have their fun in the living room of the Dojima house, and seems to have his worry regarding his friends completely eased.

Battle Quotes

 * "Izanagi!" or the name of all of his other Persona i.e. "Pixie!", "Satan!", "Jack Frost!" and etc. (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
 * Persona! (Using Persona skill)
 * Tch! (Using Persona skill/takes damage)
 * Hup! (While changing Persona)
 * Zio! (While using one of the Zio spells sometimes)

Trivia

 * In contrast to the previous Protagonists, this Protagonist is actually older than some of the main characters and is referred to as Senpai, instead of "you" or "him", by Kanji, Rise, and Naoto. He's also called Aibou (partner) by Yosuke, Onii-Chan (or Big Bro in the English version) by Nanako, and Sensei (meaning teacher) by Teddie.
 * In doujin fan works, The Protagonist is often given the joke name Banchou (Gang Leader) in reference to Izanagi's appearance, which is akin to that of a gakuran-clad youth gang leader's prevalent image in post-war Japan.
 * When the Protagonist is forced to cross-dress for the "Miss" Yasogami High Beauty Pageant during the school festival, his appearance has great resemblance to the character Saya from Blood: The Last Vampire, complete with a wooden sword. His attack is also similar to hers.
 * His critical attack with his weapon is very identical to the Persona 3 protagonist's critical attack when he is carrying Two-Handed Swords, although he is more balanced with Two-Handed Swords than the Protagonist of Persona 3.
 * His battle stance is very similar from Tatsuya Suou from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.
 * The Protagonist is the second tallest member of the party, but is still a full head shorter than Kanji.
 * The calender in his room in the Dojima Residence features both the logo of Persona 3 as well as a promotional art of the game.
 * He and the protagonist of Persona 3 gain special powers during their last battles (The World and The Universe arcanas, respectively) that can withstand any attack like Death for the protagonist of Persona 3 and Oho Ikazuchi for The Protagonist of Persona 4. Death inflicts 9999 of damage, while Oho Ikazuchi inflicts 999 od damage.
 * When he hears Jika Net Tanaka (Tanaka's amazing commodities shopping song) in the TV on Sundays he describes it as a cheery song unlike the Protagonist of Persona 3, who describes it as an annoying song, implying that despite the player's choices, he and the Protagonist of Persona 3 retain their own opinion.
 * He is the only one that can equip Nanako's gifts.
 * The protagonist has at least basic knowledge of the Korean language as there are various books in his room which are written in Hangeul, the Korean writing system.
 * He is the only protagonist so far in the Persona series to not have any kind of replica. The Protagonist of Megami Ibunroku: Persona had a kind of replica in the dungeon of the Araya Shrine to give him the items for the ultimate persona fusion, Tatsuya Suou and Maya Amano face their Shadows, and the Protagonist of Persona 3 had a doppelganger as well in The Answer.
 * It's possible he's fond of cats. One of the reasons is that he only makes two request to himself in the game: Feed The Cat and Cat Needs Food Badly!, the goals of which are obvious. The second reason is that in the side of the Dojima residence, there is a cat, and he can choose to spend time with him to increase his Understanding, and after a certain amount of time more cats appeared there.
 * The reason of why they made The Protagonist be fond of origami in Persona 4: The Animation could be because the player can choose to do a part-time job making origami figures without The Protagonist getting paid for it.
 * As of The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena and Persona 4 The Animation, he is the 4th main character in the Persona series, after Tatsuya Suou, Maya Amano, and Aigis, to have a canonical name, and the 8th in the series as a whole, after Akemi Nakajima, Aleph, Serph, and Tamaki Uchida.