Protagonist (Persona 5)

The protagonist of Persona 5 is a transfer student at Syujin High School. However, beneath his quiet demeanor is a juvenile delinquent known as The Phantom.

Appearances

 * Persona 5: Protagonist
 * Persona 5 (Manga): Protagonist as Akira Kurusu
 * Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers: Protagonist
 * Night of the Phantom: Cameo

Design
The protagonist has short, messy black hair and dark gray eyes. His default outfit is his school uniform, which consists a buttoned up black blazer with red buttons and the school's emblem on the pocket, a white turtleneck shirt that has two black chevrons on the collar, and black and red plaid trousers. He also wears black glasses, though he doesn't need them for vision correction.

As The Phantom, his outfit consists of a black trench coat with a gray collared shirt, black trousers, brown cuban heeled boots, and a pair of red gloves. His mask is a white bird-shaped mask with a black design around the eyes.

During one of his visits to the Velvet Room, he wears a black and white prisoner uniform.

Personality
Through the tradition of the Megami Tensei franchise, he is a silent protagonist, whose personality is based upon the player's actions and decisions. He appears quiet and docile, but this behavior is a profound ruse that hides the heart of a trickster. Hifumi Togo notes, while playing Shogi with him, that he feels like a "daredevil."

Persona 5
The protagonist is a second year high school student who meets Morgana and transfers to Syujin High School in the Spring in Tokyo near Shibuya. He lives in a coffee shop called Cafe Le Blanc, owned by Sojiro Sakura, an acquaintance of his parents. He becomes classmates with Ryuji Sakamoto and Anne Takamaki, who join him in his endeavors alongside the mysterious Morgana. Additionally, he is the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a group who's purpose is to steal the hearts of corrupted adults in order to create a reformed society.

During the game's prologue, the protagonist manages to infiltrate the Casino, successfully stealing a briefcase before beginning to make his escape, all the while attracting the attention of the security force in order to allow his companions to escape. He makes quick work of a demon before he continues his escape, though shortly after jumping out of a window, he is cornered by the police, and is subsequently captured, and informed that he was "sold out" by someone. Later, he is found in an interrogation room, bound to a chair, having been seemingly drugged by his captors. The apparent leading investigator splashes him with water in order to wake up him, and knocks him off of the chair as he reads off his list of crimes. Afterwards, he asks the protagonist to write down his name, as a confession to the investigation. The protagonist complies, though the Investigator tells him that he will not make it out of the room unscathed.



Shortly after signing his name, Sae Niijima, a prosecutor leading his case, enters the room to interrogate him. The two seem to share a history, and she questions him how he came to learn about "that world," and how exactly his "techniques" regarding his crimes work. As the protagonist seems to ponder how to answer, he catches sight of a blue butterfly, and hears a voice calling out to him, stating that his fate was already predetermined, but there was hope for him by recalling his memories. After that, the protagonist awakens on the train bound for Shibuya, as if the events were all a foreboding dream. During the ride, he recalls an incident where he witnessed a woman being sexually harassed by a man, and stopped him, only for the man to sue him and press charges. It is later revealed that the man was Masayoshi Shido, a powerful politician with strong connections to the police department.

After he arrives at the Shibuya Crosswalk, a mysterious application starts up, much to the protagonist's confusion. The world around him slows to a halt, and a fiery blue figure manifests before his eyes, followed by a vision of the flames developing a red grin, and himself with yellow eyes. Afterwards, as time resumes, the protagonist seemingly deletes the application, and makes his way to the Yongenjaya station, and later to the alleyway, where his new caretaker resides.

During the protagonist's visit in the Velvet Room, he encounters the proprietor, Igor, and his asistants, Caroline and Justine. Igor informs him that he is following down the path of ruin, and in order to avoid this, he must "rehabilitate," and asks him if he is ready for the challenge of taking on a distorted world. To aid him, he grants him the Isekainabi app, which allows him to traverse the Palace world.

Later, more members join the Phantom Thieves: Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, and Goro Akechi.

Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers
The protagonist is shown spacing off during class before he is hit with a piece if chalk by the teacher. Afterwards, he receives a message from Ryuji, who asks him if they want to meet up at the usual place. Later, Ryuji complains about the recent activity regarding the group of burglars who break into restaurants with lax security. Yusuke arrives, parting with Naoya Makigami, and informs the group they have a new request on the "Ask-a-Thief" Channel, in which the client of the requests is fearing for his life. The group agrees to take the request, and the protagonist tails Naoya's older brother, Kazuya Makigami. When Kazuya arrives at the park, he asks Morgana to eavesdrop on their conversation, learning that Kazuya is apart of the group of burglars.

The next day, the protagonist and his friends begin their task in stealing the target's heart. To completely reform them, they need evidence, thus Anne and Ryuji give two of the crooks false information, saying that a shop in Yongenjaya is severely lacking in security, and the owner keeps all of his money in the shop. When the burglars arrive, the protagonist sets off a fake alarm system that causes the crooks to flee, though Kazuya takes with him a warning card, supposedly written by the Phantom Thieves.

Later on, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts begin their task to steal the target's heart, entering The Palace. There, they encounter their target; Kazuya Makigami. The client was actually his younger brother Naoya, who stated in the request that Kazuya physically abused him regularly in order to relieve stress from being with his group of burglars. In order to prove this, the protagonist set up the botched attempt to rob the cafe in order to gather evidence that Kazuya was in league with them. However, Kazuya corrects them by stating that he wasn't "with them," but rather the one leading them. Later, Kazuya transforms into a demon, and attacks the group, summoning two other minions.

The protagonist manages to repel and pin down Kazuya by summoning his Persona, Arsène, and then seems to perform a Baton Touch with Yusuke, who proceeds to summon Goemon, followed by Ryuji and Anne. Kazuya seems to relish the fight, saying that he feels de-stressed, and notes how thrilling stealing is. Morgana follows up Anne and destroys the remainder of the minions Kazuya summoned, and the protagonist proceeds to finish Kazuya off, stating that he has "stolen the arrogance in his heart." Afterwards, he takes the Treasure; a key that opens up a drawer in his room. Kazuya requests that he give it to his brother, and tell him to take what's inside and burn it and throw it away. As he disappears, the protagonist and his friends then leave the Palace.

The protagonist is present as Kazuya and his gang is being arrested, after he openly confessed to a large group of people with an officer present, due to being reformed by the Phantom Thieves. Kazuya notices him as he walks away, and asks who he is. Later, the protagonist reunites with his friends back in the Palace, as they note that their next prey is much larger.

Afterwards, the protagonist is then shown to be in the Velvet Room. Igor tells him that what he experienced was a possible future, and refers to him as the "prisoner," asking him what his name is.

Night of The Phantom
The Phantom appears during the final event of Night of the Phantom, where he announces his plan to steal the hearts of the audience with the first gameplay trailer for Persona 5. He is portrayed by voice actor. He is said to have stolen secret material from the event, but that it would be revealed by Famitsu in the near future.

Battle Quotes

 * "Show your true face!" (Ripping the Mask of the Shadow)
 * "Arsène!" or any other persona names. (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
 * "Go! Persona!" (Using Persona skill)
 * "Do it!" (Using Baton Touch)
 * "Leave it to you!" (Using Baton Touch)

Trivia

 * He is the first protagonist in the Persona series to be a criminal.
 * If one includes the rest of the playable characters, Baofu is the first criminal for conducting.
 * The protagonist's mugshot reads "P508954TS".
 * His code name,, in card games can act as either the beneficial Wild Card or harmful unmatched card such as in the Old Maid game.
 * Uniquely, he is the first protagonist shown speaking in several in-game cutscenes. Likewise, most of the in-game narration is his internal monologue, instead of the second person narrator used in the previous games.