"What's the matter...? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?
(No need for mere words. Show me your true feelings.)
Very well... I have heeded your resolve. Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"
Arsène is a Persona in Persona 5.
Contents
History[edit | edit source]
Arsène Lupin, sometimes known as Raoul, is a fictional gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc. He was known for targeting criminals or those who were much worse than himself, making him an anti-hero of sorts within his own stories. He might have been partly inspired by the French anarchist Marius Jacob.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Persona 5 / Royal: Fool Arcana
- Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight: Cameo
- Persona 5 Strikers: Fool Arcana
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: Fool Arcana
Design[edit | edit source]
Arsène has, from top to bottom: a very tall top hat, a long-horned mask for its face (as Arsène appears to not have a head), a cropped red eighteenth century-esque suit worn open with the collar popped, stitched heart designs on the shoulders, a white ruffle tie, a black, tailed corset running down its torso; large, black, feathery wings starting at around the small of its back; claws; red coverings on its legs resembling pants and boots with blade-like heels.
Character designer Shigenori Soejima explained that Arsène was designed with an "old school vibe" in mind. Arsène's wings are meant to evoke the image of a thief's cape in the viewer's mind and represent the idea that a thief can go wherever he wants.[1]
Profile[edit | edit source]
Persona 5[edit | edit source]
"A being based off the main character of Maurice Leblanc's novels, Arsène Lupin. He appears everywhere and is a master of disguise. He is known to help law-abiding citizens."
The protagonist obtains Arsène, his initial Persona, during his first confrontation with Shadow Kamoshida in Kamoshida's Palace, where Arsène personally teaches the protagonist how to fight during his first battle. Upon being fused for the first time, he bids the protagonist farewell, but states that he will appear again at an important period in his journey. This occurs at the beginning of Niijima's Palace, facing off against Moloch. At the climax of the game during the battle against Yaldabaoth, Arsène appears once more. The cheers of the public fuel the protagonist to finally unbind the chains around Arsène, causing him to transform into his ultimate Persona, Satanael.
The Shujin Academy library has a book based on him called "The Great Thief" that boosts the Knowledge social stat, while one of Sadayo Kawakami's quiz questions is on the book about his exploits.
In both the manga and anime adaptations of the game, Arsène makes a brief cameo appearance as a fiery shadow in the first chapter and episode. Here he appears before the protagonist after he initially uninstalls the Metaverse Navigator app on his way to Café Leblanc for the first time.
In the fourth episode of the anime, Arsène is fused with Pixie during the battle with Shadow Kamoshida. He re-appears in episode 26, right before the protagonist is about to be captured by the police, reminding him to keep remembering the bonds he had forged since last spring. In the Dark Sun special, he is summoned to fight against Goro Akechi's Persona, Loki, and is able to defeat it, resulting in victory against their former ally.
Arsène specializes in Curse and Physical skills. However, unlike other party members, he has two weaknesses and, as the protagonist is a Wild Card, he stops learning new skills at Level 7.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth[edit | edit source]
Arsène returns as the P5 protagonist's initial Persona. Like the other Wild Cards’ initial Personas, Arsène has been given a boost to compensate the fact that he cannot be fused nor removed. Arsène evolves into Satanael after completing Ticket Quests 42, 43, 44 and 45. He obtains the special skill Revolt Vanguard.
Persona 5 Strikers[edit | edit source]
Arsène is once again the protagonist's initial Persona. While his stats don't get better, he can learn more skills levelling up and can also be one of the two Personas in-game to learn Riot Gun, with the other being Seth.
Quotes[edit | edit source]
- "I am the pillager of twilight —"Arsène"!"
- "I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."
- "Hmph, very well..."
- "Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power... and unleash it!" (Tutorial)
- "Swing your blade!" (Tutorial)
- "This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!" (Tutorial)
- "I am Arsène—the other you who exists within... Though I may disappear this moment, I shall always be at your side. We shall meet again... when your fate reaches its conclusion." (Upon being fused)
- "What's the matter? Simply going to watch? Wouldst thou forsake him? For death truly awaits him. Was your choice back then a mistake?
Very well. I have heeded your resolve. Vow to me!
I am thou... Thou art I... Thou who would accept blasphemy for the sake of thine own justice! Call upon my name and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!" (Upon awakening)
- "I am the pillager of twilight, Arsene. I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."
- "Thou I may disappear at this moment, I shall always be at your side. And when thy fate reaches its end... We shall meet again." (Upon being fused)
- "What's wrong? Are you simply going to watch? Here, in his final moments, you would forsake him? Nothing awaits him but death. Did you make the wrong choice then too?
Very well. I have taken heed of your resolve... Vow to me!
I am thou... Thou art I... Thou who would accept blasphemy for the sake of thine own justice... Call upon my name and release thy righteous rage! Reveal the strength of thy will to seek the truth on thine own, though thou be chained down by Hell itself!" (Upon awakening)
- "I am the pillager of twilight, Arsène. I am the soul of a rebel that resides within you. I shall consider granting you the power to break out of this crisis, if you desire..."
- "Thou I may disappear for now, I shall always be at your side. And when thy fate reaches its end, we shall meet again." (Upon being fused)
- "I am thou. Thou art I. You frauds who are in over your heads... Allow me to show you. How you pale in comparison to us as thieves!" (With Ren Amamiya)
Stats[edit | edit source]
Persona 5[edit | edit source]
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Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth[edit | edit source]
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Persona 5 Strikers[edit | edit source]
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Gallery[edit | edit source]
Persona 5 / Royal[edit | edit source]
Persona 5 Strikers[edit | edit source]
Persona O.A.[edit | edit source]
Other[edit | edit source]
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- In the game's prologue, Arsène's form is darkened much like Izanagi is obscured in the fog when summoned during the prologue of Persona 4.
- Arsène's two moves in the prologue, Eigaon and Brave Blade, are impossible for him to learn normally and must be inherited via fusion or taught using skill cards. He would also be far too low in level to face the Moloch in the prologue without multiple repeat strengthening sessions.
- Arsène is the only Persona to speak to the protagonist should he be used in fusion, though this only occurs the first time.
- If Arsène is fused near the end of the game, the cutscene would play as if Lavenza were still split into both of the twins, and the protagonist would be holding invisible bars.
- In-legend, Arsène is an anti-hero that conspires against people more evil than him; this trait is represented by his sinister and demonic appearance in the game and also by the protagonist as he uses his status as a thief to steal the hearts of the corrupt.
- One of the original ideas for Persona 5 was to give the protagonist an entirely different Persona instead of Arsène. The original idea was to have a Persona based on the German demon Mephistopheles. However, the programmers were against this idea because the idea of a demon-based Persona didn't fit into the thief theme of the game. [2]
- The spelling of the Persona is different between Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal: in Royal, Arsène now has an accent applied to the first "e" as the new font can support foreign letters.
- Arsène's awakening dialogue about sacrilegious acts is referenced by Michael in the Qliphoth World followed by claiming the party is beyond salvation, implying the group has no place in the world (and therefore society) tying into the theme of having no place to belong.
Appearances in Other Media[edit | edit source]
Title | Details | Date | External Links |
---|---|---|---|
Chain Chronicle | Collaboration event * Paired with Joker, Warrior class, 5-star |
January 19th, 2017 - January 31st, 2017.[3] | |
Puzzle & Dragons | Collaboration event * Paired with Joker as the character "Ren Amamiya & Arsene" |
July 16th, 2018 - July 29th, 2018[4] | |
Grandblue Fantasy | Part of Joker's base art | June 18th, 2018 - June 29th, 2018[5] | |
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle | * Color swap for Izanagi | * May 31, 2018 (Japan) * June 5, 2018 (North America) * June 22, 2018 (Europe) |
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | DLC * Summoned by Joker when his Rebellion Gauge is completely filled up, assisting him in battle |
April 17th, 2019 | Article in SmashWiki |
Star Ocean: Anamnesis | Collaboration event * Joker's Persona |
October 10th, 2019 - November 7th, 2019[6] | |
Another Eden | Collaboration event * Joker's Persona |
December 12th, 2019 [7] | Article in Another Eden Wiki |
Phantasy Star Online 2 | Appears as a statue furniture item | ||
AFK Arena | Collaboration event *Joker's Persona. |
December 30, 2020 | Article in AFK Arena Wiki |
Dragalia Lost | Collaboration event for Persona 5 Strikers * Summoned by Joker when his Dragon Gauge is full. * Dragon that all characters can shapeshift into |
January 31, 2021- February 12, 2021 | Article in Dragalia Lost Wiki |
- Chain Chronicle
- Granblue Fantasy
- Puzzle and Dragons
- Kyoutou Kotoba RPG
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Another Eden
- AFK Arena
- Dragalia Lost
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References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Persona 5 protagonist, first Persona, and more detailed in Famitsu, Gematsu
- ↑ 'Persona 5' Main Character, Locations And Personas Cut From Final Release, Director Reveals. Player.One. (Groux, Christopher) November 1st, 2016
- ↑ https://chain-chronicle-global.fandom.com/wiki/Persona_5_Collaboration_Festival
- ↑ https://www.puzzleanddragons.us/single-post/2018/07/12/Persona-Collab-Arrives
- ↑ https://gbf.wiki/Persona_5:_Thievery_in_Blue
- ↑ Persona 5 Royal x Star Ocean: Anamnesis Collaboration Starts on October 10, Ends on November 7, 2019. Persona Central (Reggy, October 10th, 2019)
- ↑ Bound Wills and the Hollow Puppeteer. Another Eden wiki.