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"As for his fate... That's for you to decide."
—A message about the protagonist at the end of the game, Persona

The protagonist of Megami Ibunroku Persona is a student of St. Hermelin High School. He is referred to as the "the pierced boy" in the Japanese version of Megami Ibunroku Persona, and the "Boy with Earring" in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. In the original English release, Revelations: Persona, he had no piercings.

Appearances[]

Design[]

The protagonist has black hair, brown eyes and a piercing on his left ear. He wears the St. Hermelin uniform without alterations. He has a black wristwatch on his left arm, and black shoes. He also appears to be wearing light lipgloss or lipstick, as shown in Megami Ibunroku Persona and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. The manga does not keep this feature or his more prominent eyelashes.

In Revelations: Persona, he was one of the many characters redesigned to make him "more American": his skin was paler, he had shorter red hair, no color on his lips and no pierced ear.

Personality[]

"Get it now? I'm every inch like you. I'm you... and you're me. We're two sides of the same coin... No, not just two. There are tens of thousands of "you"s inside yourself. ...Someone seems to be aiming to take your place, but that won't happen. Your will is rooted nice and deep. You have a good grip on yourself."
—The protagonist's other self, to the protagonist, Persona

For the most part, the protagonist is silent, and his personality is controlled by the player, setting up a pattern the protagonists of later games would follow. However, the decisions that lead to the game's true ending and the gaining of the ultimate Personas paint the protagonist as a natural leader; a compassionate, perceptive, yet blunt person who is motivated to seek his personal reason for life and discourages hiding from the truth. He also shows a rather rude or informal and laidback side, his other self in Alaya Cavern telling Maki to shut up so he can concentrate on his game when she expresses her shock at seeing another version of the protagonist and referring to Igor as "old man Igor" after giving the protagonist the items to fuse the party's ultimate Personas.

In the manga, Naoya also inherited this same trait, though since he is mostly going along with everyone else, the rest of the party are surprised when he shows his hot-headed side while leading them. Like Eriko, despite the dangerous situation they were put in, Naoya couldn't deny the excitement he felt whenever he's summoning his Persona, describing the feeling as liberating. He can also be extremely pragmatic in combat, as he doesn't hesitate to use lethal force against Aki, who is a child. According to Kazuya, Naoya can't express himself well so he always acts like everything is other people's business and always playing cool, which caused him to often get misunderstood as a quiet or unsociable person. He also suffers from survivor's guilt due to his twin brother Kazuya's death and as a consequence he has very low regard of his own well-being. This can be seen when Naoya blocks Reiji's attacks against Hariti by jumping in front of Reiji's attack and taking the hit. All those times being mistaken as Kazuya by his mother left Naoya subconsciously suffering from identity crisis and he depended on his earring to assure himself that he is Naoya. Recovering his childhood memory and confronting Kazuya made Naoya realized how indecisive he was and determined to face his problems, which finally helped him to come into terms with his self-resentment. At the end of the series, Naoya has learned to speak out his thoughts and became more sociable with his friends.

Profile[]

Persona[]

The protagonist is a nameless protagonist, who has to be named by the player at the start of the game. All that is known about his life is that he is a second year student at St. Hermelin High School,

In the true ending of the game, unlike the other students, his fate is unknown.

The plot of this game is followed in exactly the same manner by the English adaptations of Megami Ibunroku Persona while different in the manga.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin[]

Despite not making any physical appearances, the protagonist is mentioned a few times, mostly by returning Persona characters comparing Tatsuya Suou to him. For example, should Tatsuya visit Honmaru Park before the first boss fight, Yukino will say to Tatsuya that he reminds her of an old friend who "also liked to take the scenic route." Also, Eriko tells Tatsuya that he reminds her of their "old leader."

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment[]

In Eriko Kirishima's flashback at Araya Shrine, it is revealed that after the events of Persona, he had to go away and would not be able to see his friends for a while. The reason behind his departure isn't stated, as when he gives his reason, there is no text box. Later on, in the epilogue, the St. Hermelin Persona users have a reunion in Parabellum Bar. There is a knock on the door and the door opens, but the person entering is unseen. It is assumed that this is the protagonist from Persona.

Persona Manga[]

History[]

Naoya is a childhood friend of Maki Sonomura and the two of them often played together. He used to have an older twin brother named Kazuya whom he had a close relationship with and the two of them were always together. According to Maki, both Naoya and Kazuya were not so different in personality that she and their parents sometimes mixed both of them. One day, when he was a 4 years old, Naoya had a cold and was being taken care of by Kazuya and their mother. Kazuya and their mother had to go shopping, but Kazuya went out of his way to buy a manga to cheer up Naoya. On the way home, however, Kazuya was hit by a truck and passed away. Kazuya's death greatly shook their mother to the point that she started to treat Naoya as if he was Kazuya.

During Kazuya's funeral, one of his relatives gave her condolences by telling how kind Kazuya was for trying to buy a manga to cheer him up, which led to his death. This made Naoya feel responsible for Kazuya's death. To comfort his mother who was still unable to accept Kazuya's death, Naoya started to act like Kazuya to the point he almost believed himself to be Kazuya while thinking that it would be better for "Naoya" to disappear because he was unneeded. His mother's breakdown and treatment of him led her to separate herself from Naoya by staying in her parents' house while Naoya was taken care of by a hired housekeeper and Maki's family. After his mother recovered from her loss, Naoya overheard his parents arguing over what happened, so Naoya pierced his ear as a proof that he is not Kazuya and made himself forget the day Kazuya died out of guilt.

The resulting guilt caused Naoya's shadow to manifest in Maki's ideal world and takes the identity of Kazuya with the same appearance as Naoya, but his ear is not pierced.

Growing up, Naoya and Maki grew quite distance after the latter got sick with Naoya thinking that she was too gloomy and felt sorry for her. He always took notes and handouts in her place whenever she's absent due to her illness. Because of their closeness, their classmates misunderstood their relationship and teased them. Though annoyed, Naoya wasn't bothered by the teasing, but he noticed that Maki "always looked like she was about to cry," so Naoya began to distance himself further from her out of consideration to her feelings, but both still remained on good terms as friends.

Plot Overview[]

Naoya joins in on the bet made between Mark and Uesugi (he placed his bet on Mark to even the bet) to play the Persona game. Once they played the game, a little girl suddenly appeared and he, along with everyone else, falls unconscious and dreams about Philemon. Following their teacher's suggestion, they all went to the hospital for a check up and also to visit Maki. Naoya apologizes for not visiting her for the past few days, and Maki reveals that they are childhood friends to Mark when he questioned their closeness. However, Maki's condition suddenly worsened, and she was taken for emergency surgery while Naoya and everyone else waited for her.

In the middle of the surgery, an earthquake occurs and the surgery room was suddenly blocked by a wall when they opened the doors leading to the room. Monsters then started to appear in the hospital, attacking and killing the people inside. This incident awakened Naoya's Persona, along with his friends' Personas, allowing them to escape from the hospital. They then find out that they cannot leave the town. On their way back to school, they met up with Eriko Kirishima and Maki's mother, who reveals that the organization that she was working with, SEBEC, is the one responsible for what happened to their town.

Personas used in the manga[]

A list of Personas used by Naoya during the manga.

  • Seimen Kongou: Naoya's initial Persona, gained while trying to defend himself from demons at the Mikage Hospital. Despite not being used after the fight with Tesso, Seimen Kongou protected an unconscious Naoya against Kazuya for a brief time.
  • Airgetlam: Awakened during the fight with Tesso, Airgetlam was used multiple times due to his powerful Mamagnara spell. Naoya also tried to use Airgetlam's Dorminer spell on Kazuya, but it didn't work since Kazuya's Persona, Lilim, made him immune to ailments.
  • Marduk: Was first used in the fight against Tesso to reflect a Megido spell back to him. Aside from that, his only appearance was when his Tetrakarn spell protected Naoya and Maki from the Harem Queen/Chisato Kasai.
  • Vishnu: Was used in the final fight against Pandora.

Naoya never used Amon Ra, his ultimate Persona from the game.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (TV Series)[]

Persona 1 Protag Devil Summoner TV

A character with a similar appearance to the protagonist appears as a major antagonist in the second season of the Devil Summoner TV Drama. In season 2, episode 12, Kyouji Kuzunoha fights a student known as Kamiya from St. Hermelin High School who is working with the Dark Summoner Haruna. He summons Vishnu but is overpowered by Kyouji’s own Susano-o in the ensuing battle. Despite the visual similarities, Kamiya is likely only referential and not meant to be the literal protagonist of Persona. [3] [4]

Stats[]

Megami Ibunroku Persona[]

Arcana Type Subtype Level SP cost
Emperor Varies Varies 5 Varies
MAtk MDef
Strength 9
Vitality 9
Dexterity 8
Agility 8
Luck 8
Varies Varies


Battle Quotes[]

Revelations: Persona[]

  • "Get them!" ('when summoning a Persona)
  • "Persona!" ('when summoning a Persona)
  • "Aaaah!" (when summoning a Persona)
  • "Haa!" (attacking without Sword equipped)
  • "Die!" (when using a sword)
  • "Eat this!" (when using a gun)
  • "Ugnh!" (when hit)
  • "Aagh..!" (Dying)

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona[]

  • "Take this!" (when summoning a Persona)
  • "Persona!" (when summoning a Persona)
  • "Here goes!" (when summoning a Persona)
  • "Uoooah!" (when summoning a Persona)
  • "Die!" (when using a sword)
  • "Ow!" (when hit)
  • "Eat this!" (when using a gun)
  • "Gwoah!" (Dying)

Gallery[]

Megami Ibunroku Persona
 
BoyWithEarringVishnu
Illustration of the protagonist and Vishnu
 
Persona 1 protagonist gaming
The protagonist playing a game in the opening cutscene of Megami Ibunroku Persona
 
Naoya Todo
The protagonist as he appears in a PSP remake cutscene
 
HeroUSpersona
The protagonist as he appears in Revelations: Persona
Megami Ibunroku Persona Manga
 
Persona-BYTM-v1c01p001
Cover
 
Persona-BYTM-v1c01p000a
Volume 1 Cover
 
Megami Ibunroku Persona Volume 2
Volume 2 Cover
 
Persona Manga Volume 3
Volume 3 Cover
 
Persona Manga Volume 4
Volume 4 Cover
 
Persona Manga Volume 5
Volume 5 Cover
 
Persona Manga Volume 6
Volume 6 Cover
 
Persona Manga Volume 7
Volume 7 Cover
 
Persona Manga Volume 8
Volume 8 Cover
 
NaoyaToudou1
Naoya as he appears in color
 
Naoya and Kazuya Children
Naoya and Kazuya as children
 
Naoya and Kazuya Manga
Naoya and Kazuya together
 
NaoyaSketch
Sketch of Naoya
 
NaoyaVishnuSketch
Sketch of Naoya and Vishnu
 
Naoya and eriko Shinshū Ueda
official illustrations of the protagonist and Ellie by Shinshū Ueda (the official manga artist of Persona 1)
 
Persona 1 group illustration 2
protagonist and the group
 
Persona 1 group illustration
protagonist and the group
Persona 2 duology
 
BoyWithEarringIS
Unused sprite in Persona 2: Innocent Sin
 
Persona 1 Protagonist
The protagonist's portrait from the PSP remake of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
 
P1 Protag Copy EP
The protagonist's copy portrait from the PSP remake of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Megami Ibunroku Persona Digital Collection
 
St. Hermelin High School Gym Uniform
The protagonist wearing outfit variant from the dress up minigame in Megami Ibunroku Persona Digital Collection
 
Naoya Outfit 1
 
Naoya outfit 2
 
Naoya outfit 3
PERSONA 20th Anniversary Festival
 
PERSONA 20th Anniversary Festival visual art by Shigenori Soejima
The protagonist on PERSONA 20th Anniversary Festival visual art by Asuza Shimada
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, P1, 01
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, P1, 02
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, P1, 07
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, 05
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, 10
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, 13
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, 14
 
Persona 20th Anniversary Commemoration Illustrated, 15
PERSONA 25th Anniversary
 
Persona-25th-Anniversary-Key-Visual
The protagonist on the Persona 25th Anniversary Key Visual Art
 
P1-Protag-25
 
P25 Namjatown Collaboration Promo Art
Promotional artwork for the Namjatown collaboration
PERSONA 25th Anniversary Festival
 
TributeIllustration-toi8
Illustration of the protagonist and Nanjo by toi8

Trivia[]

  • If the protagonist visits the Historical Society prior to the hospital at the beginning of the game, Mark remarks, "You're awfully studious all of a sudden. Is Hell about to freeze over?" This could be hinting that the protagonist may be a little lax with his schoolwork. This is an opposite of him in the manga, where Uesugi remarks that Naoya has good grades and never arrives late at school.
  • In the manga, the protagonist has a habit of touching his face whenever he thinks of his other self.
  • The protagonist was the one who pierced his own ear, at the age of 12.
  • The protagonist is both a capricorn and a scorpio. In Western astrology, the protagonist would be a Capricorn. In Hindu astrology, the protagonist would be a Scorpio, due to a difference in dates. The artbook lists the Hindu astrological sign for the protagonist.
  • He apparently enjoys the Atlus game Groove on Fight as his other self is shown playing it in Alaya Cavern.
  • In the manga, Naoya is one of the few characters who never used his ultimate Persona, the others being Maki Sonomura and Yuka Ayase.
  • Despite only appearing in Eternal Punishment, an unused sprite of the protagonist appears in the loading screen of the PlayStation version of Innocent Sin.
P2EPNaoyaTalk

The protagonist agreeing with Nanjo that distance won't separate them

  • Although being a silent protagonist, in Eternal Punishment in Kei Nanjo and Eriko Kirishima's flashbacks he appears along with Maki Sonomura at school during graduation, in Nanjo's flashback the protagonist agrees with him that distance won't separate their friendship and in Eriko's flashback he explains he won't be able to see them for a while.
  • In an interview with character designer Kazuma Kaneko, it's revealed that the protagonist's design was made to give off a androgynous look to appeal to female players. His overall looks were based off of Tomoya Nagase of the band Tokio.
  • According to the Shinsu Ueda Artbook, the manga version of the protagonist was born on December 24 and is a Scorpio. This date, however, is incompatible with the Scorpio zodiac sign which ranges from October 23 to November 21. The manga version of the protagonist should instead be a Capricorn (December 22 - January 19).
  • In the Megami Ibunroku Persona: Shadow Maze novel, the protagonist is half American.
  • In Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Yukino alludes to him as a friend who wouldn't stop gambling and playing poker or blackjack when they had serious problems to deal with.

References[]


Megami Ibunroku Persona - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Characters
Playable Protagonist - Maki Sonomura - Masao Inaba - Kei Nanjo - Yukino Mayuzumi - Hidehiko Uesugi - Eriko Kirishima - Yuka Ayase - Reiji Kido
Non-Playable Philemon - Igor - Takahisa Kandori - Saeko Takami - Takashi Hanya - Principal Ooishi - Tadashi Satomi - Tamaki Uchida - Kenta Yokouchi - Tsutomu Kurouri - Chisato Kasai - Yosuke Naito - Yamaoka - Setsuko Sonomura - Takeda - Mai - Aki - Pandora - Kumi Hirose - Michiko Matsudaira - Yuriko Yamamoto - Tomomi Fujimori - Night Queen - Trish - Natsumi Yoshino - Yuko Himeno - Katsue Kaneda - Doctor Nicholai - Kazuya Toudou - Nishida - Mariko Yabe - Maria
Locations
General Mikage-cho - St. Hermelin High School - Mikage Hospital - Sennen Mannen-Do - Judgement 1999
SEBEC Route Police Station - SEBEC - Subway - Black Market - Lost Forest - Mana Castle - Haunted Mansion - Deva Yuga - Alaya Cavern - Avidya World - Mikage Ruins
Snow Queen Quest Ice Castle - Hypnos Tower - Nemesis Tower - Thanatos Tower - Devil's Peak
Music
Albums Original Soundtrack & Arrange Album (Complete Recording Edition) - Original Soundtrack (PSP) - Persona 20th Anniversary All Time Best Album
Songs "Dream of Butterfly" - "Voice" - "Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song" - "School Days" - "Let the Butterflies Spread Until the Dawn" - "A Lone Prayer" - "Bloody Destiny" - "Deva Yuga (Arranged Version)"
Archives
Terminology Persona (Initial / Ultimate) - Persona user - Velvet Room - Agastya Tree - Moon Phase System - Sea of Souls - Type/Subtype - Affinity - Rank - Totem - Unknown Power - Mystic Change - Contact - Personality - DEVA System - Nanjo Group - Demon Mirror - Snow Queen Mask - Code Breaker - Fusion (Fusion Theory) - Ideal Self - Growth Rate
Lists Arcana - Personas - Demons - Bosses - Skills - Items - Status Changes
Other Media
Productions Digital Collection - Ikū no Tō Hen
Publications Manga - Messiah Project - Shadow Maze - Kandori no Yabo - 1996 Comic Anthology: Super Comic Gekijou / Short Comic Heaven / Agastya Hen / Rakuen no Tobira / Ikai-ka Toshi / Kokoro no Umi Yori Dedeshi Mono / Yakusoku no Jinite / FACES / Anthology Comic (Broccoli) - 2009 Comic Anthology: Comic Anthology (DNA Media Comics) / Anthology Comic (Bros Comics EX) / Yuki no Juu Hen / Kochu no Kioku / The BEST Masterpiece Selection
Major Characters
Playable Maya Amano - Tatsuya Suou - Katsuya Suou - Ulala Serizawa - Baofu - Kei Nanjo - Eriko Kirishima
Non-Playable Philemon - Nyarlathotep - JOKER/Tatsuya Sudou - Metal Trio
Minor Characters
Plot Relevant Maya Okamura - X series robots - Eikichi Mishina - Lisa Silverman - Jun Kashihara - Daisuke Todoroki (Kyouji Kuzunoha) - Takashi Hanya - Youichi Makimura - Ginji Sasaki - Suou's father - Trish - Noriko Katayama - Akinari Kashihara - Shunsuke Fujii - Miho Ogishima - Mami Shibata - Junko Kurosu - Akari Hoshi - Hiroki Sugimoto - Yasuo Inoe - Matsuoka - Yung Pao - Miyabi Hanakouji - Miki Asai - Makoto Kuwahara - Anna Yoshizaka
New World Order Tatsuzou Sudou - Takahisa Kandori - Chizuru Ishigami - General Sugawara - Captain Shimazu - Chief Togashi
St. Hermelin High School Graduates Hidehiko Uesugi - Maki Sonomura - Reiji Kido - Yukino Mayuzumi - Tamaki Uchida - Boy with Earring
Velvet Room Igor - Nameless - Belladonna - Demon Painter
Rumormongers Kenta Yokouchi - Chika Ueda
Shop Time Count - Garcon Soejima - Sumaru Genie - Kankichi Mishina
Shadow Selves Shadow Maya - Shadow Katsuya - Shadow Baofu - Shadow Ulala
Tatsuya's Scenario Lieutenant General Zula - Shiori Miyashiro - Chandraputra - Kouji Nakamura
Locations
Sumaru City Kasugayama High School - The Seedy CD - Mu Continent - Seven Sisters High School - Mt. Mifune - Sanitarium - Sky Museum - GOLD - Club Zodiac - Aoba Park - Padparcha - Sewers - Laboratory - Sumaru TV - Smile Mall - Factory - Nichirinmaru - Undersea Ruins - Mt. Iwato - Subway Tunnel - Ameno Torifune - Sumaru Castle - Monado Mandala - Bomb Shelter - Extra Dungeon
Music
Albums Original Soundtrack (PSX / PSP) - Punitive Dance - Persona 20th Anniversary All Time Best Album
Songs "Change Your Way" - "Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song"
Archives
Terminology Persona (Initial / Prime / Ultimate / Reverse) - Persona user - Cards (Tarot / Material / Skill / Incense) - Mystic Change - Affinity - Mutation - Unknown Power - JOKER Infection (Artificial Persona) - Kegare - Other Side - Nanjo Group - Trapezohedron - Muses - New World Order - Tien Tao Lien - Shadow Self - Tatsuya's Scenario - DEVA System - Growth Rate - Rumor
Lists Arcana - Personas - Demons - Bosses - Skills (Fusion Spells) - Items - Rumors - Restaurants
Other Media
Productions Infinity Mask
Publications Eternal Punishment (novel) - Persona 2: Tsumi ga Ataeshi Batsu - Persona: Tsumi To Batsu - Comic Anthology: The Atoners / The Unforgivable / The Strays
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