Yosuke Hanamura

Yosuke Hanamura is a playable character from Persona 4. Like the protagonist, Yosuke arrived in Yasoinaba from the city.

Appearances

 * Persona 4: Playable Character

Biography

 * Age:16
 * Date of birth: 22nd June 1994
 * Height: 175 cm
 * Weight: 58kg
 * Blood Type: A
 * Initial Persona: Jiraiya
 * Ultimate Persona: Susano-O
 * Arcana: Magician

Persona 4


Yosuke Hanamura is an awkward and clumsy student who attends Yasogami High School. He has slightly unkempt reddish-brown hair and usually walks around with a music player and red/orange headphones around his neck. He serves as comic relief, often through physical comedy, such as getting his head stuck in a trash can.

Yosuke makes his first appearance during the Protagonist' first day at school, where he comically crashes his bicycle. He was later shown to be apologizing towards Chie Satonaka, due to the fact that he broke the DVD "Trial of the Dragon", in which he borrowed from Chie. Enraged, Chie would beat up Yosuke comically, and demands him to buy her a new one. The Protagonist befriends Yosuke the next day, where he helps Yosuke after having his head stuck in a trash can after crashing his bicycle. Later, to express his gratitude, Yosuke invites the Protagonist to Yasoinaba's delicacy store. However, Yosuke later scraps his plans after Chie hears his proposal, and takes them to Junes Food Court instead.

Chie would later tell the Protagonist and Yosuke about the urban legend of the Midnight Channel, and asks them to try it out. Their conversation was interrupted when Yosuke sees his senior, Saki Konishi taking a break. Seeing her looking frustrated and tired, Yosuke became worried and talked to Saki. In their conversation it is revealed that Yosuke, like the Protagonist, came from a city, and his father is a manager of Junes. Yosuke later tries to tell Saki something, however Saki simply brushes him off and tells him that her break-time was almost over. Chie takes note of Yosuke's disappointment and teases him, asking whether is he falling in love with Saki. Later that night, Yosuke tries to tune in to the Midnight Channel, and sees a blurred image of a female student in his TV. Expressing his bemusement that day, Yosuke, Chie and the Protagonist became intrigued due to seeing the same person in the Midnight Channel. Chie would later ask Yosuke about the prices of a wide-screen TV, as her family was planning to buy one. The trio would later go to Junes, where the Protagonist tries to enter to the other side of the TV- this time using a wide-screen TV large enough to cover his body. The Protagonist becomes stuck halfway, and upon witnessing the Protagonist' actions, Yosuke and Chie panic and accidentally push themselves along with the Protagonist into the other side of the TV, Midnight Channel.

Inside the Midnight Channel, the trio are shocked to see their surroundings and panic. They anxiously try to return via searching the entrance they fell earlier, but failing to do so, they decide to check around the area. Eventually, they encounter a bear like cartoon character, who urges them to leave this place. The trio confess their inability to do so, and losing his patience, the bear like cartoon character summons three TVs and pushes them in, forcefully ejecting the trio out of the Midnight Channel. The next day, Saki Konishi was reported missing, and subsequently dead.

Devastated, Yosuke swore to investigate the Midnight Channel, as the female student they witnessed earlier in the Midnight Channel was in fact Saki Konishi. Yosuke requests the Protagonist to help him, as he is the only one who is able to enter the TV. Eventually the Protagonist and Yosuke would enter the Midnight Channel one more time, leaving Chie behind. Inside the Midnight Channel the Protagonist and Yosuke once again encounters the cartoon-like character, who introduces himself as Teddie. Infuriated by their presence, Teddie angrily asks them whether are they responsible of "throwing people" inside the Midnight Channel. Yosuke angrily stammers back, telling Teddie that he was the suspicious one.

Upon learning that the Protagonist and Yosuke aren't responsible, Teddie promises to help, and gives them a pair of glasses which allow them to see the fog ridden Midnight Channel clearly. Eventually the Protagonist and Yosuke venture to an area resembling Yasoinaba's shopping street. Intrigued, the Protagonist and Yosuke tries to enter Saki's family liquor store and begin to hear the voice of Saki Konishi echoing them. In there, Saki's voice reveals that she is tired of her life: her family liquor store's sales are falling because of the opening of Junes, and her part-time job in Junes cause her father to detest her. Saki also reveals that she hated Yosuke, and never think of him as a friend, but an annoying, irritating person; she was being friendly to Yosuke only because he is the son of the manager of Junes.

Hearing Saki's inner thoughts, Yosuke was devastated, and tries to convince himself that everything he heard was a lie. Another 'Yosuke' appears, and openly mocks Yosuke, asking whether is he going to cry like a baby. Shocked, Yosuke tried to answer back, but the other 'Yosuke' proceeds to taunt Yosuke in reality, he is just afraid of being alone, and his cheerful facade was nothing more than just a sign of escapism. The other 'Yosuke' then mentions that Yosuke never sees anyone as a friend, including Saki, but only as a things to help him to feel secure.

Angered, Yosuke tells the other 'Yosuke' to shut up, and denies his claims. The other 'Yosuke' then mocks him, telling him that deep down, he is agreeing at the other Yosuke's claims. The other 'Yosuke' exclaims that he knew it because he is Yosuke. Not wanting to believe, Yosuke angrily exclaims that the other 'Yosuke' is not him. Laughing at Yosuke's declination of his true feelings, the other 'Yosuke' transforms into a Shadow to attack them. The Protagonist defeats the Shadow, with Yosuke still reluctant to face himself. Under the encouragement of Teddie and the Protagonist, Yosuke painfully admits that he does feel that way, but it is always hard to face one's true feelings. Sensing Yosuke's resolution, the Shadow transform into Jiraiya, and becomes Yosuke's Persona. Later, when the Protagonist and Yosuke returns to the real world, they are lectured by a worried and angry Chie, who promptly leaves after scolding them. Yosuke later thanks the Protagonist, telling him that he'll definitely have a good night's sleep tonight.

The next day, Yosuke tells the Protagonist that they must stop the murder incidents and investigate the culprit behind the Midnight Channel, allowing the Protagonist to forge the Magician Arcana with Yosuke.

Should the Protagonist manage to level up the Magician Arcana Social Link to Lv.8, Yosuke reveals that when he first moved to Yasoinaba, he was resentful towards the town, as he feared that the opening of Junes would make the people in the Shop District hate him. Despite this, however, Yosuke begins to open up when Saki Konishi told him that "parents are parents, you (Yosuke) are you". Yosuke later exclaims that even after he knew the friendly Saki was a facade, he still loves her, and is sad to see her die. Yosuke also expresses his resentment of living in a small country town with little to do, as well as his wish to do something interesting like play hero.

By the end of the Magician Arcana Social Link, Yosuke expresses that deep down inside, he didn't trust the Protagonist fully, and is jealous of his talents in combat and being a leader of the Investigation Team. Confessing his inner thoughts, Yosuke then requests the Protagonist to punch him, so they could get even for Yosuke's jealousy. The Protagonist eventually brawls with Yosuke, with their fight ending with a tie. Yosuke would then exclaim that he'll live with his true self from now onwards, and hold precious the days he spends with others. Eventually having a change in his psyche and resolution, Yosuke's Persona Jiraiya transfigures into Susa-no-O. Noticing his new found powers, Yosuke exclaims that he will use the power to protect the others, and thanks the Protagonist.

Yosuke's Persona, Jiraiya of The Magician Arcana, takes the form of a humanoid ninja whose head vaguely resembles a cartoon frog's, and wears a white disco suit and a red scarf. It also has a distinctive 'V' on its chest that is meant to be the frog's mouth. Jiraiya uses wind spells and is also able to use healing spells. Should the Protagonist reach Lv 3 of the Magician Arcana Social Link, Yosuke will learn his distinctive follow-up attack, Yosuke Strike, where he performs a powerful combo with 100% critical rate on another active enemy, provided if the Protagonist have struck down a target.

Trivia

 * Yosuke and Chie appear to have a comic relationship very similar to that of Eikichi Mishina and Lisa Silverman from Persona 2: Innocent Sin.
 * When Yosuke is forced to cross-dress for the "Miss" Yasogami High Beauty Pageant during the school festival, his 'Yosuke-chan' form resembles Natsuki, Fuuka Yamagishi's friend from Persona 3.