 |
This article needs to be condensed. Unnecessary, general information in the Profile section needs to be cut out and made brief. |
"Well, because I'm a psychic, of course. Haha, I'm only joking. In truth, I'm a rookie detective."
Goro Akechi is a playable character from Persona 5. He is touted by his fans and the media as the second coming of the detective prince (after the first appeared in Persona 4), and is investigating the mysterious Phantom Thieves of Hearts case sensationalizing Japan.
Appearances
- Persona 5 / Royal: Playable Character; Justice Confidant
- Persona 5 (Manga): Major Character
- Persona 5: Mementos Mission: Major Character
- Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers: Cameo
- Persona 5 The Animation: Major Character
- Persona 5 The Stage
- Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight: Playable Character (DLC)
- Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight: Playable Character (DLC)
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: Playable Character
Design
Akechi has shaggy, neck length brown hair with bangs and reddish-brown eyes. He wears a tan peacoat with black buttons, striped black and white tie, black pants, black gloves and black loafers. His casual winter outfit consists of a white long sleeve shirt with flaps under a blue diamond sweater vest, beige pants and brown shoes.
During the events of the third semester in Royal, Akechi wears a green vest and white collar shirt, both under a brown coat with black buttons, and blue pants while retaining his gloves and loafers.
As Crow, Akechi wears a princely pure white royal outfit with red accents and a red, long-nosed mask. The artbook states his mask motif resembles that of a medieval western plague doctor, but in keeping with Akechi being as proud as a tengu, it's also got a long nose. His image is a combination of a noble's attire and a uniform worn by cavalry or guards of honor. As with his Robin Hood Persona, it's meant to give the feeling of putting on the air of a champion of justice, with nothing to do with being a Phantom Thief, robber or burglar of any sort, invoking the image of being at the front of a stage to contrast the protagonist's image of being more of a backstage actor.
Once he reveals his true intentions, Akechi swaps his princely garb for a body-covering, black and dark blue striped outfit. In this form, he has several black belts strapped around his legs and arms. He also wears a dark enclosed knight helmet, with a deep crimson mask resembling a sharp beak. Much like with Loki's design, it alludes to a lack of agency, is meant to give a chaotic feeling and invoke the question "what's the real you?"
Personality
During most of the story, Akechi appears to be well-mannered, friendly and charismatic high-school detective. Coupled with his achievement as a detective and handsome feature, Akechi is highly popular among the public and is commented to be "The Second Coming of Detective Prince." His intelligence and smooth-talk earned him enough trust from the police to conduct his own investigation despite his young age, which includes Sae Niijima, who fully trusts him to assist her in her investigation.
He presents himself to have a strong sense of justice, disapproving of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts for their methods and is candid in expressing his disagreement, but never forces his view on others and still respect people who have different opinion from him.
In reality, this cheery disposition is merely a mask that hides his inner darkness. Due to his bleak childhood, Akechi grew up being a lonely child who yearns to be loved, a feeling which still preserved even as a teenager. He was also heavily implied to be illegally conceived in one of Shido's sexual ventures, which would become the basis of his incredibly misanthropic worldview and his psychotic behavior, making him even harder to befriend.
Despite supposedly being an idol detective, this identity is nothing short of a fraud that he carefully crafted to grant him a public image in the hopes that it would make people accept him and mask his real personality, which is done by artificially fabricating and solving cases via mental shutdowns or psychotic breakdowns. He has the public's support only if he upholds the pretense of being a charismatic idol detective, and his fans are quick to turn on him if he makes mistakes, such as when the Phantom Thieves triumphed over Kaneshiro and Medjed.
Shido's abandonment resulted with Akechi developing strong hatred for his father and swore to get revenge on him for ruining his life. His desire for revenge is so strong to the point he is willing to become effective hitman for Shido, committing murders under his father's order to fulfill his goal to ruin Shido when he is at the apex of his power. Despite this, his ideals of justice meant it, he just isn't exempt from murdering people or causing Japan-wide chaos when he enforces it.
After meeting the protagonist, for the first time Akechi is able to experience a simple normal life with a friend. Akechi both admires and envies the protagonist who does not let anything stop him from making his own path, considering him as his rival. Persona 5 Maniax states that despite being overwhelmed with jealousy and contempt for Joker who was surrounded by friends, Akechi says he would have wanted to meet Joker earlier, and doesn't deny what Mona said about him taking a liking to Joker. In the end, he seems to hold complicated feelings toward Joker.
Near the final act of the game, his obsession with getting revenge on his father and desire to be the hero of his own story overshadows his true feelings for the protagonist and the party. In that regard, he has become a traitor for both the Phantom Thieves and Shido. He became so desperate that he dismisses the concept of friends and true justice, claiming they are both meaningless and sickening, and also becomes irrationally psychotic as a result. However, after learning how special he is to the protagonist and the party and the truth of how Shido sees him from the cognitive version of himself, Akechi realized how foolish he has been for letting his hatred blind him from seeing the truth and he sacrifices himself to protect the protagonist.
He usually speaks in a calm and polite, yet unsettling fashion, but when he drops his guise and uses his powers to become berserk as a last ditch attempt to defeat the thieves, his dialogue becomes wildly aggressive and profane. This is apparent in the Japanese script in that the usual self-referring-pronoun that Akechi often uses is "boku;" when his guise is dropped and he drives himself berserk with his powers, it changes to "ore" instead. Likewise, his pronoun for the context of saying "you" turns from "kimi" to "omae" as well, including dropping his formal verbal tics.
In Royal, Akechi retains the same traits he shows when he fought the Phantom Thieves. This side of him is elaborated further during battle, referring small Shadows as scums and seems to take delight in defeating them. Akechi also completely drops his detective prince pretense. He behaves more coldly and seriously, speaking in straightforward manner without any sugar coating. Unlike before, Akechi no longer cares about how people would think of him and seems perfectly comfortable with the person he truly is. He won't bother making small talk, directing the conversation straight to the point. While Akechi seems to no longer hold any contempt against the Phantom Thieves, he is no kinder than before with them since they already knew his true nature. He also shows a morbid-kind dry sense of humor, joking by suggesting they finish off Maruki when handing him the calling card.
When it comes to his enemies, he is still highly merciless, seeing no problem in killing his enemies if he feels is necessary. In some conversations in Thieves Den, Akechi had outright stated that he would kill Madarame or Kamoshida if he were to be abused by them like Yusuke or Ann, in which they responded that letting them suffer for an eternity would be better than outright killing them. However, Akechi does shows certain restraints to this side of him depending on who his opponents are. He chooses to back out and leave Joker to fight Sumire alone because he worries he might kill her due to his combat instinct. He would try to kill Maruki only as the last resort when he saw no other choice.
While his behavior is colder than before, it's evident that he holds the protagonist in high regard. He willingly turns himself to the police so the protagonist won't be locked up to repay his debt to the protagonist.
Additionally, despite not being a real detective but actually a hitman and a criminal, Akechi does have excellent deduction and analysis skills as seen during the Niijima and Maruki's Palace heists and during Persona Q2, and his quick and in-depth thinking allows him to be an effective asset when he was an ally of the party. This proves that even without having to fabricate cases via inducing psychotic breakdowns on his targets, he actually does have what it takes to become a true detective.
The official Persona 5 Artbook reveals that Akechi lives alone in a city apartment. His main skill is reasoning, and he has a habit of getting lost in thought during conversations. His hobbies include cycling (specifically, with a hybrid bicycle for easy turning in Tokyo), bouldering and playing fashionable games like darts. His guidebook profile also states that Akechi always makes sure to try out the latest popular dishes in order to use food as a conversation piece. Waiting in long lines for this doesn't bother him. He uses his cycling hobby to ride around town, gathering stories to utilize in conversation with adults. Since he spends a lot of time with adults, he has a reputation among Tokyo’s famous hidden stores and high class restaurants, although in truth he has little interest in the food’s flavor.
Profile
Persona 5
Akechi is the bastard child of Masayoshi Shido, the same man responsible for the protagonist's probation period. His mother was a prostitute who was shamed and committed suicide. According to him, before her suicide, she raised him alone and when she brings men into their home from the red light district, she would tell him to go to the bath house. Akechi wished to make Shido apologise for his crime of making her illegally conceive a child, but was powerless to do anything because Shido was already a high-ranking official by then. He was then passed around child institutions as an orphan.
Two years before the story, Akechi acquired the Wild Card and access to the Metaverse, although he is not permitted access to the Velvet Room. Akechi then offered a hitman service to Shido to help him achieve his goal of winning the Prime Ministry; in reality, this was just a plan by Akechi to catch Shido off guard so he can forcibly ruin Shido's political career as soon as he is elected Prime Minister. Shido proceeded to teach Akechi about inducing mental shutdowns by abusing Mementos. During their collaboration, Akechi used Loki to fabricate scandals of Shido's opponents to discredit them, then proceeded to "solve" the case himself. This, along with his already standing charisma, earned him the title "The Second Coming of the Detective Prince," along with celebrity status. If any of Shido's enemies proved particularly troublesome, Akechi would assassinate them personally by inducing a mental shutdown.
Around a day after the protagonist is pulled into the rehabilitation game, Akechi causes a massive subway accident for the sole reason of framing the traffic department for incompetency. He then first physically appears in the game discussing affairrs with Sae when the mental shutdown-based train crash happened.
Akechi disapproving the Thieves on a talk show.
Akechi is first mentioned to the party by Shadow Madarame and Shadow Kaneshiro after their fall as a figure in a black mask, which alarms the Phantom Thieves. After Madarame's fall, he is then seen watching Madarame's press conference with Makoto Niijima. Akechi's first interaction with the group is during a Shujin Academy school trip to a TV station where he is scheduled to appear as a guest. He passes by and overhear the Protagonist speaking with Morgana, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Ann Takamaki backstage. During the show, he expresses a distaste for the Phantom Thieves, who he accuses of taking the law into their own hands. As part of the show, Akechi asks the Protagonist for his opinion of the Thieves.
Akechi quickly takes an interest in the Protagonist, approaching him after the show and telling him that he enjoyed their conversation and hopes to speak again sometime. This causes the Justice Confidant to form between the two. Akechi continues to state his disapproval of the Phantom Thieves, but as the heists continue, Akechi's popularity begins to dip.
An extra scenario in Royal has him bumping into the protagonist and Kasumi Yoshizawa near the Shibuya station, where Kasumi reveals that her father hosted the talk show he was on earlier. Akechi responds that he had met the host personally, but was suprised that Kasumi was his daughter. The three then have a chat in a cafe, discussing about the Phantom Thieves until Kasumi's father calls her back.
Once the Phantom Thieves popularity reaches its peak, the Conspiracy tricks them into making their next target Kunikazu Okumura. At the defeat of Kunikazu and during his Palace's collapse, Akechi takes the chance to assassinate Kunikazu's shadow. This is yet another attempt to remove one or more of Shido's enemies, as Kunikazu is a major obstacle to Shido's inauguration. During his press conference, he subsequently suffers a mental shutdown and dies, leading to suspicion of the Phantom Thieves behind his death. Akechi's support skyrockets due to his staunch disapproval of their methods, and Shido's conspiracy takes advantage of this to frame the Phantom Thieves for a crime that they did not commit.
Sixth Heist: Sae Niijima
Later, Shujin Academy is searching for a guest celebrity to speak at their cultural festival. Akechi is chosen in a landslide, and he accepts Makoto's invitation. During his speech, he boasts of knowing the Phantom thieves identities, and uses a fake call to talk to them. He shows photos taken of the Phantom Thieves entering Okumura's palace and strikes a deal with them. Akechi claimed he had entered the Metaverse a month before, and awakened his Persona when he saw the black masked man killed Kunikazu. Akechi requests that he accompany them on their heist on Sae's Palace to catch the real culprit and clear the group's name. He exchanges this occasion for the destruction of the photo evidence. With no choice, the group agrees with his offer.
During the heist, Akechi helps with Palace mechanics, and even allows them to attend Sae's court case to access a floor, as the floor is inaccessible even with a key card. When Shadow Sae impedes the party's progress by increasing the number of coins required to enter the Manager's Floor of the casino, he secretly used the loan card that Futaba told him to get rid of to loan as many coins from it as possible, allowing the party access to the Treasure.
With Sae defeated and 'treasure' found all seems calm. However, the victory is cut short with a police invasion outside Sae's Palace. The protagonist decides to act as a decoy so the rest of the Phantom Thieves can escape, Akechi follows the others while the protagonist catches the police's attention and is ultimately caught.
With the protagonist captured, Akechi heads to the room planning to execute the him. On his way there, whilst crossing paths, Sae shows Akechi the protagonist's cellphone. After Sae leaves, Akechi asks the guard outside the room to join, then kills the guard with his gun. He then shoots the Protagonist and stages the scene as a suicide before leaving. When he reports to Shido of his success in assassinating the protagonist, Shido considers killing the remaining Phantom Thieves. Akechi tells him to wait until after the election to avoid rousing suspicion and assures Shido that they won't seek revenge without their leader.
In reality, when Sae showed Akechi the phone, he was sent to the Metaverse and everything in the room were mere cognitions. Sae is shown evidence and the protagonist is rescued, but to the rest of the world, the protagonist committed suicide while in custody; the conspiracy with much confidence never checked for a corpse.
Alternatively, the protagonist can reveal all identities to Sae. If so, Sae leaves and crosses paths with Akechi, not knowing he came to assassinate the protagonist. Due to Sae not showing the cellphone, Akechi murders the protagonist and guard for real.
Seventh Heist: Masayoshi Shido
Shido threatens Akechi.
Akechi makes a public appearance where he addresses the protagonist's "suicide" at a talk show. The public now gives Akechi their full support, but he states internally that they would not support him if they knew of his origins. At that moment, an audience member's phone rings, causing Akechi to recall how Sae showed him the protagonist's phone before he carried out the latter's murder. Later, Shido abruptly demands Akechi to murder people involved with the schemes. When expressing doubts, Shido threatens him and asks Akechi if he knows what it means to disobey him. At this point, Akechi realizes that there is a high chance the protagonist is still alive and encroaching upon Shido's Palace.
After the Phantom Thieves secure all the necessary letters to enter Shido's Treasure Room, Akechi confronts the Phantom Thieves in the boiler room where he expresses his surprise that the protagonist is alive. He reveals his plan to expose his status as Shido's illegitimate son when he wins the election and reveal his crimes, thereby shattering his father's career and credibility. He battles the group in his Crow form with Robin Hood as his persona. After his first defeat, the Phantom Thieves tries to discourage him from continuing his revenge, but Akechi revels in jealousy. He uses his own berserk ability on himself in a last ditch effort to defeat the Phantom Thieves, officially using Loki to attack them. However, he still fails anyway. Upon his second and final defeat, Akechi again revels in his jealousy as he falls into deep despair, lamenting about never being able to become someone special in his life; but to his surprise, the group talks about how they would accept him back if he wishes.
Before Akechi could respond, a Cognitive Akechi appears. His cognitive self, mocks and declares Akechi the true puppet. It is then revealed Shido planned to kill then pin everything upon Akechi. Infuriated by this, Akechi chooses to shoot his cognitive self before shooting the locking switch on the wall, sealing himself off from the Phantom Thieves. Knowing that they would die if they tried to save him, he puts his trust in the Phantom Thieves to stop Shido for him. As Akechi faces off against his equally wounded Cognition, the last sound to be heard are two gunshots then complete silence. Futaba states there's nothing coming beyond the wall, later Sae confirms Akechi is missing.
In Royal, the protagonist is given an option to "fulfill Akechi's promise" when he goes to bed after defeating him in the cruiser. If he chose the second option, Akechi can get a third tier persona assuming the requirements to trigger the Third Semester events are fulfilled, and the subsequent true ending scene will be altered.
Shido is very insecure of exposure to his connection to Akechi as well as the fact that Akechi is his bastard child. When the party confronts Shadow Shido, he confirms the plan to kill Akechi, as his birth is a taint to his political power. Shadow Shido gloats about how he used praise to make Akechi dance in the palm of his hand, and says that he was the reason Akechi was skilled, and knew how to execute Mental Shutdowns. The Phanton Thieves condemn Shido for corrupting Akechi in such a way only to discard him in the end, and for making a teenager become a murderer for acceptance.
Failing to complete any of the first six palaces before the deadline makes Sae leave, and Akechi kills the protagonist. Failure to complete Shido's palace on time leads to Akechi discovering that the protagonist is alive and he appears in the protagonist's room where he arrests him for murdering a guard and deceiving the police, stating that "This game is over."
Final Heist: Mementos
It is revealed Yaldabaoth gave Akechi access to the Metaverse, to see if Akechi's desire to reset the world, or the protagonist's desire for rebellion, was stronger. Akechi's supposed goal after discrediting Shido is the destruction and recreation of society as opposed to Joker reforming society by removing its corruption. However, he would blatantly rig the outcome in an attempt to prove that humanity indeed wants his "salvation" by controlling the people of Tokyo and stagnating their thoughts regardless of who won.
In Persona 5 Royal, Akechi reveals himself at Christmas Eve after Yaldabaoth's defeat, offering himself to take the protagonist's place for Sae to testify about his and Shido's crimes. He turns himself in to the police and confesses to the murders he committed on Shido's behalf.
Persona 5 Royal
"I refuse to accept a reality concocted by someone else, stuck under their control for the rest of the days."
Akechi was released on January 1st for no reason and sensed the world had been altered. He went into Leblanc where he saw Wakaba and Morgana in human form, confirming his suspicions. He asked the protagonist, who is the only other person to be aware of the irregularity, to help him investigate. When receiving a call from Kasumi, they go to Odaiba where an unknown Palace appears. The trio gather in the unknown Palace and noticed that the Metaverse Navigator has returned with a different icon, this time in white and black.
Entering the Palace, Akechi proceeds to take on his Black Mask form merely because he felt more comfortable in it. He starts at level 75 upon rejoining and has Loki instead of Robin Hood. He also acts as the navigator during the trio's investigation. While infiltrating the palace, Akechi grows suspicious that Kasumi is the master of the palace when she identified her deceased sister as Sumire after seeing the footage of her past. This is proven false once Takuto Maruki reveals himself as the real master and the one who created the 'ideal' reality that they currently live in using his grossly amplified cognitive warping powers. When Akechi and the protagonist reject Maruki's reality, the former counselor gives them a week for the protagonist to snap out all of his other comrades from his manipulations before confronting him. Akechi, on the other hand, gathers information about Maruki while dialing Sumire's parents to make sure they know that she is in danger.
After that time passes, the protagonist and Akechi return to confront Maruki and reject his reality again. Kasumi, revealed to be her younger twin Sumire, whose memory was altered by Maruki prior to the story, refuses to return. If the protagonist denies Maruki offer, she fights them with his assistance. Choosing to accept Maruki's offer leads to a bad ending. They are close to defeat until the rest of the Phantom Thieves arrive. After defeating Sumire, Akechi offers his help to the rest of the party as they share the same goal, which they accept.
The day before the promised day, if Akechi's promise is fulfilled, Maruki visits Leblanc and reveals that he is unsure if Akechi is still alive in the real reality. After Yaldabaoth was defeated and Maruki replaced his position, he created a reality where he and the protagonist can start over after sensing the protagonist's regret. Akechi was fully aware of this from the start because he has no clear memories between the fight against the cognitive Akechi and meeting the protagonist again at Christmas Eve, and after seeing Wakaba and Okumura alive, he realized Maruki's trick.
Despite knowing this, Akechi still refuses the reality Maruki created because that would be no different from being enslaved. Akechi then speaks alone with the protagonist and makes it clear that he decides his own path, convincing the protagonist to fight Maruki even if it means losing him. The protagonist is then given the option to accept Maruki's reality by canceling the heist on his own. If he doesn't, Loki will transmogrify into Hereward.
It is revealed that while Maruki did not truly know what happened to Akechi while in Maruki's ship due to the limited knowledge gathered from the thieves, but he was able to bend reality to where none of that transpired, allowing the real deal to walk amongst them. However he does not remember past the encounter with the Phantom Thieves in the boiler room. This detail was emphasized in the completion guide.
If the protagonist chooses to stay in Maruki's reality and has confirmed to do so, Akechi will be disappointed by his choice, only he begrudgingly accepts the protagonist's judgment as he leaves. He reappears as he was pretending to be Maruki's "brainwashed puppet". The same bad ending that occurs when the protagonist directly accepts Maruki's offer will play afterwards.
After Maruki is defeated and the original reality restored, Akechi remains missing in the real world and the protagonist accepts Sae's offer to turn himself in on Christmas Eve and testify against Shido. However, in the epilogue of the true ending, a glimpse of Akechi is briefly seen passing by outside of the train the protagonist is boarding accompanied by two suited men. Whether this means Akechi was alive all along is not made clear.
During a New Game Plus, Akechi can wear his Black Mask outfit during the Sixth Heist and his Crow outfit during the Third Semester. This only changes his aesthetics and does not change his in-game properties, however.
Confidant
"I can't believe you evaded the police's network until today... The only logical explanation is that someone in the police has ties to the Phantom Thieves... Explain yourself!"
Akechi's Confidant is automatically established on June 10th. This Confidant progresses along with the story, and can only progress past Rank 7 if the protagonist answers Sae's questions correctly during the interrogation in November. Because Akechi's stay in the party is only temporary, his battle abilities are all activated when he joins the party. This Confidant will automatically reach Max rank during the main storyline. Maxing this Confidant unlocks the fusion of Metatron. Akechi's Confidant is one of two that does not have a farewell gift to the protagonist, a result of his sacrifice for him.
| Rank | Date | Ability | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 10th | - | - |
| 2 | July 24th | - | - |
| 3 | August 28th | - | - |
| 4 | October 24th | - | - |
| 5 | October 26th | - | - |
| 6 | October 29th | Baton Pass | Allows you to pass your turn over to other Baton Pass users after a 1 More. |
| Follow Up | Chance to perform a follow-up attack if Joker's attack does not down the enemy. | ||
| Detective Talk | Chance to step in after Shadow negotiation fails, allowing a retry. | ||
| Harisen Recovery | Chance to cure status ailments inflicted upon party members. | ||
| 7 | November 19th - After clearing Niijima's Palace | - | - |
| 8 | November 20th - After answering Sae's questions correctly | - | - |
| 9 | Encounter Akechi in Shido's Palace | - | - |
| 10 | Defeat Akechi | - | - |
Persona 5 Royal
In Persona 5 Royal, Akechi's Confidant will also be optional instead of automatic. Doing so is required to unlock the biliard club and Jazz Jin, and will allow the protagonist to randomly uncover enemy weaknesses. The deadline for the manual confidant is the 18th of November, and the protagonist cannot interact with Akechi afterwards. His weakness uncovering ability triggers regardless if he is friendly or hostile.
Akechi's confidant will allow the protagonist to have a chance of scanning the enemy's weaknesses. The protagonist invites him to billiard matches for most of his confidant plotline. The confidant will also be locked at rank 7 prior to November 18th. However, the protagonist is required to duel him in Mementos at rank 8, in which the confidant automatically rises to rank 9, then maxes at as in the original game. All other moments where his confidant would otherwise rank up in the original game that do not occur in Royal. Akechi is alive on December 24th due to the existence of the palace the protagonist finds on the 2nd of October.
Akechi's Confidant revolves around his relationship with the protagonist. After meeting several times by a chance, Akechi begins to invite the protagonist to hang out with him. When they played billiards in which Akechi won, the protagonist noticed that Akechi is not using his dominant hand. Impressed by how sharp the protagonist is, Akechi challenges the protagonist to defeat him in billiards when he's using his right hand, and if he does then Akechi will fight him for real. As they hang out more, Akechi starts to open up to the protagonist, even revealing his dark past and subtly tries to convince him to join his side.
At Rank 8, after the protagonist defeated him in billiards, Akechi calls the protagonist to Mementos where he challenges him to a duel. The battle ends with no clear winner as both reached their limit and must rest before facing Shadow Sae. Akechi admits that he hates the protagonist for being able to stay on his path despite his circumstances and how he continues trying to best Akechi, which irritates the latter. This makes Akechi not want to lose to the protagonist. Akechi then gives his glove to the protagonist as a promise that they'll have a rematch in the future and Akechi vows to defeat him.
If the protagonist is defeated by Akechi in this solo fight, it will not yield a game over, although as he has entered Mementos, the day will end.
Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers
"Well, if there really are thieves like them out there, I believe they should be brought to justice in a court of law. Twisting other people's hearts by force... That's the worst thing any human could do."
Akechi makes an appearance on TV, where he is asked his opinion on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. His response is that whether or not they truly exist, they are criminals who should be brought to justice; he goes on to denounce their actions, and believes that forcing people to change what's in their hearts is wrong.
He is later present at the arrest of Kazuya Makigami and his gang, noticing the protagonist when Kazuya saw him.
Persona 5 The Animation
Akechi's anime counterpart in his Crow appearance, was seen helping Joker escape from the Casino momentarily. Throughout the series, Akechi is seen in interviews on various media devices. Akechi makes his physical appearance during the tenth episode and like before, voices his disapproval of The Phantom Thieves' methods. His dark appearance appears during the battle with Kaneshiro, observing the fight through the security monitors.
Unlike in the game, Ren's interactions with Akechi are shown in detail, such as having him help investigate Futaba's uncle in his blackmail against Sojiro Sakura.
Later on, he fulfills the same role as in the game trying to assassinate Ren during Sae's interrogation during the final episode of the anime. He assassinates Ren after Sae shows him his phone. Judging from the purple flash and the blue butterfly that appears before he enters the interrogation room to assassinate Ren, he had just assassinated Ren's cognitive copy.
In the Dark Sun special, Akechi's role in it is similar to the events of the game, meeting up with Shido and reminiscing on how they met, to him lamenting during the talk show and eventual fight against the Phantom Thieves in the boiler room. Though in this, he is implied to have assassinated the SWAT team responsible for capturing Joker as well, most likely to clean up loose ends.
During the boiler room fight, he fights solo against Joker and is pushed back due to hits from the leader's gunfire. Enraged, he transforms into his true form as the "Black Mask" and summons Loki to attack, a move that leads to Joker's initial persona, Arsene, to clash with his own. He clashes with Ren in a melee battle, being wrathful and baffled as to how despite Ren having a criminal record, he has what he doesn't: friends.
In the end, Arsene bests Loki and Akechi is defeated. Like in the game, cognitive Akechi appears and summons Shadows to deal with the Phantom Thieves and Akechi himself. However, in the animation's version of events, Akechi is able to kill the cognitive version of himself and returns the black king piece that Joker gave to him before (signifying how Ren finally outplayed Akechi) before closing the boiler's shutters. With this version of events, the last we see of Akechi is him staring down a horde of Shadows before the point of view switches to the side of the Phantom Thieves. They hear rounds of gunfire go off on the other end, while Futaba confirms that his signal is gone. With the implication of Akechi's fate, the Thieves are saddened by their loss, with Ren, in particular, slamming his fist against the door, but are forced to press on in order to get to change Shido's heart in his stead.
In Stars and Ours special, near the end of the battle against Yaldabaoth when the Phantom Thieves are immobilized by the god, Ren heard Akechi's voice encouraging him while he's holding the chess piece Akechi returned to him.
In the Proof of Justice special, which takes place after Shido's change of heart, Ren and Morgana finds a scribble written "Proof of Justice" with Akechi's hand-writing in a zigzag puzzle magazine that Akechi played before. Morgana dismisses it as a mere scribble, but Ren is curious of its meaning.
The next day, Ren visits the places where he used to hang out with Akechi while reminiscing those times they spent together. Ren spends the whole day asking around about the words and finds nothing until he overhears a child whining his father about "Proof of Justice." When Ren asks, it turns out the words came from a toy gun commercial. Ren recognizes the toy gun as similar with the one Akechi used in the Palace. This makes Ren realizes that the words represents Akechi's desire to be a hero. Back at home, Ren laments his inability to save Akechi, but determines to move forward for the sake of his own proof of justice.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
As the game takes place during the Sixth Heist, Akechi is included as a party member as Crow. He is in the party's default team and is one of the brains of the cast, helping in solving the puzzles and riddles throughout the labyrinths. While he can be seen as distant, he is much easier to interact with by other Persona users in this game and does not display obvious signs of his darker personalities at all, although the Phantom Thieves generally still do not hold him in a high regard.
When meeting P4 cast, he is interested in Naoto Shirogane who is the first Detective Prince before him. Their sharp wit and positions as detectives made Akechi get along fairly well with Naoto. There is a side-quest in which both of them must work together to find the culprit who attacks every person holding Theodore's handmade popcorn (later revealed to be Caroline and Justine disguised as Teddie). This experience grants Akechi and Naoto a unison attack which they can use together against an enemy.
Akechi also finds his insecurity growing while adventuring the labyrinths from watching the rest of the cast who are able to accept each other for who they truly are. Joker noticed the change in Akechi's behavior, though Akechi denies this. Koromaru, who also sensed this, is being unusually close to Akechi. Ken starts to think that Akechi is different from the rest of Phantom Thieves after seeing Koromaru's behavior towards Akechi, stating that Koromaru only acts that way for people who have deep problems. Akechi once again assures Ken that there's nothing wrong with him, but later quietly reveals his astonishment at Koromaru's sharp instinct. Shinjiro also noticed Akechi’s isolation with his team and correctly surmised of Akechi’s dark past. He comforts him to look ahead and stop letting his past binds him. Akechi turn down the suggestion, however, as he cannot understand the notion of getting over his actions.
At the end of the game, he stutters for a bit before returning back to reality alongside the Phantom Thieves, and unlike the other members of the group, he is also non-existent in the post-credits events, indicating that he is still the traitor. However, according to the official artbook, it is actually because that the experience has made him aware of how unfavorable his personality is, and he does not wish to leave as he fears of reverting back to his old self.
Strategy
Persona 5 - Traitor Boss Battle ENG SUB
Traitor boss battle.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
Unlike most other major boss fights in the game, Akechi is fairly straightfoward and does not possess many gimmicks or high enough bulk to stall the fight for long. Most of his movement patterns are linear and predictable, allowing the party to outmaneuver him with specific methods. The party should still prepare and recover HP/SP after defeating Ongyo-Ki and before charging further into the engine room, as that will trigger the boss encounter instantly and his attacks hit fairly hard. The party also cannot use a Goho-M after defeating Ongyo-Ki, so fuse the required personas beforehand.
In the first phase, Akechi is shielded by Guard Dog of Hades and Spear-wielding General. He will cause them to use Desperation which greatly raises their offense at the cost of defense. As these two heavily favor physical attacks, throwing up Physical Ointments or Tetrakarn will speed up this part of the fight.
Once his two minions are down, Akechi enters the fight himself, attacking the protagonist exclusively in this order: Kougaon, Eigaon, Megaton Raid. This makes Akechi easily exploitable by putting up Tetrakarn and Makarakarn on the protagonist in the right order. This pattern will repeat until Akechi's health is halved, in which he will use his next turn to cast Megidolaon. If the battle continues past that turn, Akechi will use his next two turns to Charge then Megaton Raid towards the protagonist.
In the second phase, Akechi focuses on Physical attacks. He will use Tetrakarn to repel Physical attacks and use Brave Blade afterward. Occasionally, he may use Negative Pile which is dangerous if the target is the protagonist and if he is afflicted with Despair. It's best for the protagonist to use a Persona which nullifies the damage of Physical attacks.
After a portion of his HP is down, he'll begin focusing on Magic-based skills. Like the previous phase, he'll use Makarakarn to repel Magic attacks and use a Magic skill. It is recommended not to have Yusuke in the party since Akechi can easily gain One More if Maragion lands on him. The protagonist should be wary of using Personas that are vulnerable to Fire or Curse skills.
When his HP is reduced to at least a third, Akechi will begin to routinely switch patterns, but he doesn't use a Physical skill along with a Magic skill in his turns. Occasionally, and on the first turn of this phase, Akechi will use Laevatein, an powerful Almighty skill, to the protagonist which cannot be deflected. It is wise to have the protagonist guard to reduce the damage, and have his allies recover his HP or also reduce Akechi's offensive damage and increase the protagonist's defense.
Whenever Akechi successfully downs an enemy, he'll use the follow-up to apply Desperation on himself. Otherwise, he'll perform a different action, mainly Dekaja if the protagonist's party has buffs, or Heat Riser to apply buffs to himself, if Desperation is already active.
Stats
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quotes
Persona 5 (Battle Quotes)
Ally
- "Robin Hood!" (Using Persona Skill)
- "Now, Robin!" (Using Persona Skill)
- "Loki!" (Using Persona Skill - Unused)
- "Arise, Loki!" (Using Persona Skill - Unused)
- "My skills exceed yours!" (Selecting Persona Skill)
- "Taste my wrath!" (Selecting Persona Skill)
- "Manifest!" (Selecting Persona Skill)
- "Persona!" (Selecting Persona Skill)
- "It doesn't die!" (Akechi's attack or Skill doesn't defeat the enemy)
- "I was merciful." (Akechi's attack or Skill doesn't defeat the enemy)
- "Very clever..." (Akechi misses or Skill fails to inflict damage)
- "Someone cover me!" (Akechi misses)
- "Saw that." (Akechi dodges)
- "Too slow!" (Akechi dodges)
- "One down, now it's two!" (Akechi reduces the enemies to two)
- "It's the last one!" (Akechi reduces the enemies to one)
- "You need my help?" (Initiating Follow-Up)
- "Understood. Moving in!" (Follow-Up Attack)
- "We're still fighting!" (Using Harisen Recovery on an ally)
- "How inconvenient." (Using Harisen Recovery on an ally)
- "I'll use this!" (Using an Item)
- "There." (Giving Baton Pass)
- "I'll do my best!" (Receiving Baton Pass)
- "Roger." (Receiving Baton Pass)
- "Allow me." (Receiving Baton Pass)
- "This can't be..." (Incapacitated)
- "Lucky hit..." (Incapacitated)
- "Ugh, electrified!" (Inflicted with Shock)
- "That takes care of that. Let's move!" (Battle results)
- "Let's keep up this pace!" (Battle results)
- "Checkmate." (Initiating Hold-Up)
- "Freeze!" (Initiating Hold-Up)
- "It'll be a massacre!" (Initiating All-out Attack)
- "This is what I was waiting for!" (Initiating All-out Attack)
- "Let's scatter!" (Initiating All-out Attack)
- "Learned your lesson?" (All-out Attack finishing touch)
- "Stay out of our way." (All-out Attack finishing touch)
- "That is the taste of defeat!" (All-out Attack finishing touch)
- "Just watch me." (Tactics changed to Act Freely)
- "Very well, there will be no survivors." (Tactics changed to Full Assault)
- "Roger. No Persona Skills." (Tactics changed to Conserve SP)
- "Safety first." (Tactics changed to Heal/Support)
- "I expect concise commands." (Tactics changed to Direct Command)
- "Time to go, withdraw!" (Escaping from battle)
Boss Battle 1
- "I won't let you stop me."
- "Kill them... Persona!"
- "Take them down... Robin Hood!" (Using Megaton Raid)
- "Perrrsonaaa!" (Using Charge)
- "Damn you..." (Taking damage)
- "Whoa!" (Dodges attack)
- "Serves you right!" (Protagonist dies)
- "Who...is...next?" (Kills a party member with Megidolaon)
- "Let's do this." (Randomly at the start of someone's turn)
- "You'll pay for that!" (Randomly at the start of someone's turn)
- "I...!" (Randomly at the start of someone's turn)
- "How dare you!" (Unused)
Boss Battle 2
- "You are the trash of society. I will kill you! Destroy you! Crush you...! Teammates are nothing but trash!"
- "You're just... pieces of shit... who lick each other's wounds...! Anything goes... if you say you're teammates...!" (At medium health)
- "Why are you... looking at me like that...!? I've... I've succeeded until now... all by myself...! I don't need... teammates... I don't..." (At low health)
- "Persona!" (Unused)
- "Loki!" (Unused)
- "Descend, Loki!"
- "I'm not letting you off!"
- "Take them down Loki!" (Using Deathbound)
- "Eat this!" (Using Brave Blade)
- "Die." (Using Eigaon)
- "Incinerate!" (Using Maragion)
- "Go to Hell!" (Using Megidolaon)
- "Freeze, you fools!" (Using an Ice skill, unused)[1]
- "Tremble in fear!" (Using Bloodbath, unused)[2]
- "What!?" (Akechi's Skill misses)
- "Grr..." (Akechi's Skill misses)
- "The hell was that?" (Taking damage)
- "Too slow!" (Dodges attack)
- "Bastard!" (Knocked down - Unused)
- "I’ll kill you." (Getting up from knockdown - Unused)
- "Stay down." (Downs an enemy/Attacking Downed enemy)
- "You’ll die." (Reduces a party member to low health)
- "Serves you right." (Kills a party member)
- "Uaaaaaggggghh!" (Defeated)
- "Hahahaha... AHHAHAHAHA!!" (Protagonist dies)
- "You pieces of shit!" (Randomly at the start of someone's turn)
- "Whaaat?" (Randomly at the start of someone's turn)
- "I... will KILL you!" (Randomly at the start of someone's turn)
- "You piss me off!" (Unused)
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
Battle quotes are not officially translated. Translations are provided with the original text for comparison.
- "Roger that, Oracle." (了解したよナビ) (Battle start, responding to Oracle)
- "Everyone, be cautious!" (みんな、警戒よ！) (Battle start, Enemy Advanced)
- "I'll show you the extent of my power!" (僕の力を見せするよ！) (Select skill)
- "Let's go about this calmly." (冷静に行こう) (Select skill)
- "I can attack its weakness." (僕なら弱点を付けるよ) (Select skill, with Enemy's weakness)
- "This is great! This is really great!" (いいね！実にいいよ！！) (Select skill, with Boost)
- "This is what I call an opportunity!" (これはチャンスってことだね！) (Select skill, with Boost)
- "I'll aim for its nine lives." (九生狙いで) (Select skill, choosing Enemy with weakness)
- "Whoops..." (おっと) (Select skill, cancel)
- "Maybe not this..." (違うかな) (Select skill, cancel)
- "Let's aim for its weakness no matter what." (どうやら弱点を狙えそうだね) (Turn starts, Enemy weakness identified)
- "(chuckles) I'm overflowing with energy!" (ふふ、力が漲ってくるね！) (Turn starts, with Boost, responding to Oracle)
- "Joker, I have high hopes for you." (ジョーカー 期待してるよ) (Turn starts, Joker has Boost)
- "Robin Hood!" (Skill, Robin Hood)
- "Kill them with a shot! Robin Hood!" (射殺せ！ロビンフッド！) (Skill, Robin Hood)
- "Persona!" (Skill, Sub-Persona)
- "Manifest! Persona!" (顕現せ！ペルソナ！) (Skill, Sub-Persona)
- "Witness this!" (思い知れ！) (Skill, Sub-Persona)
- "Just as I predicted." (読み通りかな) (Bind/Status effect inflicted)
- "What?" (なんだと？) (Miss)
- "I missed?" (外した？) (Miss)
- "Like you'd hit me!" (当たるか) (Miss, Enemy)
- "I saw that coming!" (見え見えだ) (Miss, Enemy)
- "How dare you..." (よくも…) (Gets hit)
- "Impossible!" (バカな…！) (Gets hit)
- "Why you...!" (…貴様！！) (Gets hit)
- "I give my regards." (礼を言うよ) (Item, from allies)
- "This... might be a bit bad..." (ちょっと…マズイかな…) (Low HP)
- "I can't, to this extent..." (僕、この程度では…) (0 HP)
- "I'm..." (この僕が…) (0 HP)
- "I've been waiting for this!" (この瞬間を待っていたよ！) (Punisher, prompt)
- "The enemy has fallen!" (敵は総崩れだね！) (Punisher, prompt)
- "Now, let's go all-out!" (さぁ、意気に行こう！) (Punisher, accept)
- "Time to strike back! Let's do it!" (応射つだ！やろう！) (Punisher, accept)
- "Oh? It's surprisingly tough." (おや？以外とタフだね) (Punisher, no enemies defeated)
- "Just as expected, Joker!" (さすがはジョーカーだ！) (Joker gets Boost)
- "Good one, Skull!" (Skull gets Boost)
- "Good one, Panther!" (いいぞパンサー！) (Panther gets Boost)
- "Nice attack!" (いい攻撃だね！) (Non-Phantom Thief member gets Boost)
- "You should become the stars!" (星になるといい) (Battle end, Crow finishes)
- "(chuckles) I won't let you get away." (ふふ、逃がさないよ) (Battle end, Crow finishes)
- "They were pretty much small fries." (ほとんど雑魚だね) (Result, low-leveled Shadow)
- "Seems like it dropped something." (何か落ちたんじゃない) (Result, Treasure)
- "Just a little more until I level up." (レベルアップってはもう少しだね) (Result, close to leveling up)
- "Truthfully, I'm going to level up soon." (実はそろそろレベルアップあまりそうだな) (Result, close to leveling up)
- "I can feel my Persona growing!" (ペルソナの成長を感じる！) (Result, level up, Robin Hood)
- "I feel like I'm getting close to great power." (これ、寄りそうで好感の力よ) (Result, level up, Sub-Persona)
- "Everyone, look! This is my new attack!" (みんな見てて、僕の新わざだ！) (Result, level up, new skill)
Gallery
| Persona 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Akechi's Cut-in.
Akechi's Cut-in (Black Mask).
Akechi's Level-Up icon.
Akechi's text icon.
Akechi's Confidant portrait.
Concept art.
Concept art.
Crow concept art.
Akechi sitting.
Akechi and the protagonist for Persona 5 Premium Event.
Illustration of the main members of Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Illustration of the main members of Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Illustration of Goro Akechi and the protagonist by Rokuro Saito.
Illustration of Akechi and the others by Shigenori Soejima.
Official Wallpaper
Theme.
Theme.
Theme.
All-Out Attack portrait.
All-Out Attack finishing touch.
Goro Akechi and Sae Niijima.
Akechi as the "Black Mask" in a flashback
Akechi swipes a policeman's gun and kills him.
Akechi staring at the dead policeman.
Akechi smiling after killing the policeman.
Akechi looking down at the protagonist.
Akechi kills the protagonist.
Akechi transforming into the "Black Mask."
Akechi summons Loki.
Akechi going psychotic.
Akechi after transforming into the "Black Mask."
Akechi berserk.
Akechi as the Black Mask (Model).
|
| Persona 5 Royal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Akechi on the P5R key art
Akechi on the right with Ryuji behind him
Akechi with the protagonist and Kasumi in the DARTSLIVE collaboration.
All-Out Attack finishing touch (Black Mask).
Akechi's Black Mask All-Out Attack Portrait.
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight costume (DLC)
Demonica costume (no mask, DLC)
Demonica costume (masked, DLC)
Featherman costume (DLC)
Tracksuit
Velvet Room costume (DLC)
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth costume (DLC)
Akechi's Black Mask Portrait.
Akechi's Black Mask Portrait (sad).
Akechi's Black Mask Portrait (cocky).
Akechi confused.
Akechi's Showtime
Akechi and the protagonist's Showtime
Akechi with the protagonist and "Kasumi".
Akechi's Confidant Screen after the start of the 3rd Semester.
Akechi and the protagonist playing chess during the credits of the new bad ending.
Bad ending credits snapshot where the former Phantom Thieves party in LeBlanc.
Concept art
|
| Persona 5 Portraits | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goro Akechi's portrait
Akechi sad
Akechi smiling
Akechi frowning
Akechi discomforted
Akechi shocked
Akechi's summer school uniform
Akechi's casual attire
Akechi’s ‘Crow’ outfit
Akechi frowning (Crow outfit)
Akechi smiling (Crow outfit)
Akechi sad (Crow outfit)
Akechi shocked (Crow outfit)
Akechi's Crow outfit (No mask)
Akechi frowning (Crow outfit, no mask)
Akechi's intimidating stare
Akechi smirking
Akechi angry (unused)
Akechi upset (unused)
Akechi staring (Crow outfit)
Akechi smirking (Crow outfit)
Akechi angry (Crow outfit)
Akechi upset (Crow outfit)
Akechi staring (Black Mask)
Akechi smirking (Black Mask)
Akechi angry (Black Mask)
Akechi smiling (Black Mask, unused)
Akechi upset (Black Mask, unused)
Cognitive Akechi
Cognitive Akechi smiling
Cognitive Akechi angry
Akechi cut-in
Akechi winking cut-in
Akechi winking cut-in
|
| Persona 5 (Manga) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cover for Volume 6
Persona 5 Character Anthology
Illustration by Persona Q: Side P4 manga author Mizunomoto
Illustration countdown of Akechi for volume 1 of Persona 5: Mementos Mission
Akechi in Persona 5: Mementos Mission
|
| Persona 5 Costumes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Detective Uniform
Winter Casual Wear
Summer School Uniform
St. Hermelin High School Uniform (DLC)
Kasugayama High School Uniform (DLC)
Gekkoukan High School Uniform (DLC)
Yasogami High School Uniform (DLC)
Persona 4: Dancing All Night Costume (DLC)
Persona 4 Arena Shadow Operation Outfit (DLC)
Karukozaka High School Uniform (Ideo Hazama) (DLC)
Shin Megami Tensei IV Costume (DLC)
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Costume (General Munakata) (DLC)
Butler Uniform (DLC)
Christmas Costume (DLC)
|
| Persona 5 The Animation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Visual art of Goro Akechi
Akechi on the special visual
Akechi on DVD Volume 9's Cover
Akechi on DVD Volume 9's Cover
Ren and Akechi on the DVD cover of P5A Volume 11
Ren and Akechi on the DVD Reverse Cover of P5A Volume 11
Akechi in the P5A Artbook
Akechi in the P5A Artbook (2)
Akechi in the P5A Artbook (3)
Akechi in the P5A Artbook (4)
Akechi in Persona 5 The Animation Attic Meeting
Persona 5 x SHIBUYA109 artwork
Persona 5 Masquerade Party Event
Persona 5 Sega Campaign
Akechi and Ren in the October 2018 issue of Newtype Magazine.
Official Wallpaper
Goro Akechi in Persona 5 The Animation
Akechi as the "Black Mask" in a flashback
Akechi as the "Black Mask" in Persona 5 The Animation
|
| Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight/Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winter Elite Outfit
White Surf Trunks
Prince Suit
Butler Suit
Deep Blue Clothes
|
| Persona 5 The Stage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Goro on the left
Goro Akechi In Persona 5 The Stage
|
| Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Akechi with the group
Akechi with the P5 cast
Akechi's All-Out-Attack
Akechi's Close Up
LINE sticker
|
| Tribute Artworks | ||
|---|---|---|
Illustration of the protagonist and Goro Akechi by Teita (Norn9 illustrator)
|
| PERSONA 20th Anniversary Festival | ||
|---|---|---|
20th Anniversary
|
| Other | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Picaresque Mouse Phantom Thieves
Picaresque Mouse Akechi
|
Videos
 |
 |
 |
Etymology
"Go" (吾) of Gorou is the archaic form of the first person pronoun "I" in Chinese which carries no meaning in formal Japanese language and is merely borrowed for Chinese translation or naming. Akechi (明智) literally means "wisdom" in Chinese, the same meaning in Japanese would be "kenmei" (賢明).
It could also be a reference to Kogoro Akechi (明智 小五郎), a fictional private detective created by Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō Hirai) from the story "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Rampo is considered the father of the Japanese detective story and was a great admirer of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Akechi is the first recurring detective character in Japanese fiction and is clearly inspired by Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It also makes sense for Akechi to be the rival of the team as in the introduction to the translated version of "The Early Cases of Kogoro Akechi," The Fiend with Twenty Faces (Akechi's main rival) is referred to as "more of an Arsene Lupin than a Moriarty."
It may also be a reference to Akechi Mitsuhide, a retainer of the notorious daimyo and conqueror Oda Nobunaga who rebelled against him for reasons that are often interpreted as disgust for Nobunaga's flaunting of bushido. This ties to aside of betraying the Phantom Thieves, he is also a traitor to Shido as well, as Shido has ambitions that can be compared to Nobunaga.
In Other Languages
| Language | Titles | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 English
|
Goro Akechi | Crow | Black Mask |
 Japanese
|
明智 吾郎 (Akechi Gorou) | クロウ (Kurou) | 黒い仮面 (Kuroi Kamen) |
 Korean
|
아케치 고로 (Akechi Goro) | 크로우 (Keurou) | 검은 가면 (Geom-eun Gamyeon) |
 SimplifiedChinese |
明智 吾郎 (Míngzhì wúláng) | CROW | 黑色 面具 (Hēisè miànjù) |
 TraditionalChinese |
明智 吾郎 (Míngzhì wúláng) | CROW | 黑色 面具 (Hēisè miànjù) |
Trivia
- Ordinarly, Akechi’s name is written in kanji in the Japanese version. It's used for all of his text boxes, as well as the boss title card for his first fight. However, during the fight against his black masked form, his name is displayed on his boss title card in katakana as "アケチ ゴロウ." This is the only time Akechi’s name is written this way, as the kanji is still used for his dialogue boxes during this same fight.
- Unlike most Party members, Akechi is almost always referred to by his surname, which would otherwise be shared by most antagonists in the series.
- Akechi's outfit when he uses Loki has a pattern of blue and black in contrast to his outfit when he uses Robin Hood which has a theme of red and white.
- While Akechi is a Wild Card user just like the protagonist, unlike him, he can only use two Personas. His other Persona, Loki, belongs to the Justice Arcana like Robin Hood, Akechi's signature Arcana.
- Akechi himself hints at the idea of having the same potential as the protagonist in a conversation between him and Yusuke in Thieves Den, before jokingly shrugging it off.
- Akechi has the ability of being able to change his outfit. It is never elaborated upon, its just something he can do.
- Despite being a short term party member during that time, Akechi won first place in Sega Festival 2016 fans polling for favorite party member question.
- According to an episode of Persona Stalker Club, Akechi's attaché case contains a laptop and documents about cases. The A mark means Akechi and is his own craftsmanship, because he likes to show off. And apparently, the period after the A indicates an abbreviation for "Answer."
- Within the Metaverse, Akechi's stance mirrors Joker's, but lacks the natural sway that Joker has, instead standing completely still.
- Many of Akechi's DLC outfits hint at his status as the traitor: he is dressed as a major antagonist for three sets (Boss from Catherine, Ideo Hazama from Shin Megami Tensei: if... and General Munakata from Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army) and as a major enemy-turned-ally for the Persona 2 set, as he's the only one wearing the Kasugayama uniform: the same worn by Jun Kurosu and Eikichi Mishina, though the latter being a party member since the start.
- Just like with Makoto Niijima before, the official twitter account for the Persona series posted a "Happy Birthday" message for Akechi on June 2, 2017 JST.
- Akechi is left-handed.
- According to Akechi's Maniax profile, his ideal type of lover is someone who keeps a reasonable amount of distance. Also, if he won 700 million yen, he would travel and see the world after his entrance exams.
- In Maniax, Akechi's message for someone in the PT reads: To the leader: "You don’t seem to excel particularly in areas of looks, intelligence, or athletics. Yet I wonder why people tend to gather around you... it makes me very curious."
- In Shido's Palace, the Justice Confidant ranks up from 8 to 9, and then 9 to 10, in back-to-back story cutscenes. Since there is no opportunity to go to the menu to view the Confidant menu in-between those 2 rank up scenes due to boss battles, the description for Justice rank 9 is normally unviewable in-game.
- Rank 9 reads as following: Akechi's objective is to settle the score that stems from his hatred for—and attachment to—Shido, the father who threw him away. Now an enemy after revealing his true feelings, Akechi attacked...
- Akechi's confidant was originally planned to be optional. Because he became an enemy later on, it was difficult to incorporate into the plot, so his confidant became automatic. This is instead applied in Royal.
- All characters within Joker's party will learn Protect upon reaching Rank 9 Confidant, which has the member sacrifice themselves in order to protect Joker from a fatal attack. Upon reaching Rank 9 for Akechi in the story, Akechi sacrifices himself to protect Joker and his party against Shido's cognitive Akechi and Shadows. In Royal, however, he possesses the ability normally after rejoining.
- Despite Akechi technically being responsible for murdering Futaba and Haru's parents, they never put the full blame on him. Instead, their anger is directed to Shido as he ordered Akechi to murder them, and he was merely going on whatever he is ordered to do.
- Akechi is the only major boss in Persona 5 that is fought while securing the treasure route instead of after.
- He is the only member of Phantom Thieves of Hearts who doesn't receive his own dance outfit in Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight.
- Unlike other team members who join, a book based on Akechi's persona, Robin Hood, won't be available to check out at the library.
- Files in the game however, indicate that there is a book on Robin Hood which would raise the Kindness stat.[3]
- Unused Shadow negotiation files in the game indicates that Akechi is intended to have a Palace at some point.[4]
- Unused files in the game indicate that Akechi is intended to be fought after sending the calling card to Shido instead of before.[5]
- According to the Art book of Q2, Akechi is actually the one that painted the Phantom Thieves in the subway during the opening movie. (Excluding himself though)
- In Royal, Akechi gives his glove to the protagonist at Rank 8 with a promise that he will defeat him the next time they fight. This mirrors the time Ren gave Akechi the chess piece that he and Akechi usually uses to play with a promise he will defeat him in Persona 5 The Animation.
- Before the group fights Akechi Morgana throws out an insult saying he's nothing but a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. This is a throwback to Persona 4 where Yukiko also called Tohru Adachi a kid throwing a temper tantrum that couldn't have their way.
- Akechi in his Persona Q2 DLC Outfit retains his Crow appearance even if he joins the party as the Black Mask.
- During the protagonist's showtime with Akechi, if he is wearing any costume that would expose his face, one can see that his eyes glow red throughout its animation.
- Akechi is one of the three characters to have their confidant's icon changed during certain conditions in Royal. The others were Kasumi Yoshizawa and Caroline and Justine.
- According to the official interview from the Persona 5 Royal Official Complete Guide, Futaba and Haru were deliberately designed to distance themselves from directly interacting with Akechi during the third-term events in order to display that they never forgave him.
- According to the Proof of Justice OVA and his confidant in Royal, Akechi cannot cook.
- He is the only party member to have three types of Cut-Ins.
- Akechi is one of the two characters that are exposed as a major culprit because he heard Morgana talk in the real world despite supposedly never meeting him in the Metaverse, with the other being Kuon Ichinose. Coincidentially, both reform and assist the Phantom Thieves at the end of the game.
- In the Royal completion guide, it is revealed that the new portraits he received in the third semester was a late development decision brought up by the art team.
Appearances in other media
- Puzzle & Dragons:
- Puyo Puyo!! Quest:
- Kyoutou Kotoba RPG:
- Akechi (Enemy > Can join as Kotodaman)
- Normal (5-star), Phantom Thief (6-star)
- Collaboration event: March 5th, 2019 - March 28th, 2019[8]
- Super Smash Bros: Ultimate:
- Color swap for Joker.
- Spirit (Support,Advanced Class)
- Article in SmashWiki
- Part of the Joker DLC: April 17th, 2019
- Identity V:
- Skin for Playable Character
- Second collaboration event: November 7th, 2019 - November 28th, 2019[9]
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle:
- Color swap for Tohru Adachi
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | ||
|---|---|---|
Joker using the Crow palette in Super Smash Bros Ultimate
|
| Kyoutou Kotoba RPG | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Akechi in Kyoutou Kotoba RPG
Crow in Kyoutou Kotoba RPG
|
| Identity V | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Illustration of the Phantom Thieves as part of the 2nd Identity V collaboration event
Crow in Identity V
Crow in Identity V
Akechi in Identity V
|
| Other | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Persona 5, in collaboration with Sanrio
Joker and Akechi, in collaboration with SuperGroupies
|
References
- ↑ Unused skill voice clips
- ↑ Unused skill voice clips
- ↑ List of unused books in Persona 5
- ↑ Unused Shadow Negotiation dialogue
- ↑ Unused Akechi boss dialogue
- ↑ Persona Collab Arrives! Puzzle & Dragons (July 13, 2018)
- ↑ Persona 3, 4, 5 Popular Scene Vote Results, Persona Q2 Line Stamps Announced, Persona Q2 x Puyo Puyo!! Quest Collaboration. Persona Central (Reggy, November 24th, 2018)
- ↑ Persona 5 x Kyoutou Kotoba RPG: Kotodaman Collaboration Trailer, Starts on March 5, 2019. Persona Central (Reggy, March 4th, 2019)
- ↑ Persona 5 x Identity V Collaboration Part 2 Announced for November 7 to November 28, 2019 Persona Central (Reggy, November 6th, 2019)
| Characters | |
| Playable | Ren Amamiya - Ryuji Sakamoto - Morgana - Ann Takamaki - Yusuke Kitagawa - Makoto Niijima - Futaba Sakura - Haru Okumura - Caroline & Justine |
| DLC | Shinjiro Aragaki - Goro Akechi - Theodore - Lavenza - Sho Minazuki - Labrys |
| Locations | |
| Tokyo | Café Leblanc - Shibuya - Shujin Academy |
| Palace | Kamoshida's Palace - Madarame's Palace - Kaneshiro's Palace - Futaba's Palace - Okumura's Palace - Niijima's Palace - Shido's Palace - Mementos |
| Other | Velvet Room - Hawaii |
| Music | |
| Songs | GROOVY - One Nightbreak |
| Albums | Persona Dancing P3D & P5D Soundtrack Advanced CD |
| Archive | |
| Lists | Social - Trophies - Patches and Updates |
| Development | |
| Corporate | Atlus Co., Ltd. |
| Personnel | Kazuhisa Wada - Shigenori Soejima - Ryota Kozuka - Shoji Meguro Toshiki Konishi - Atsushi Kitajoh - Jazztronik - tofubeats - Mito - Yukihiro Fukutomi - KAIEN - Shacho - Taku Takahashi |
| Characters | |
| Playable | Makoto Yuki - Yukari Takeba - Junpei Iori - Akihiko Sanada - Mitsuru Kirijo - Fuuka Yamagishi - Ken Amada - Aigis - Elizabeth |
| DLC | Shinjiro Aragaki - Goro Akechi - Theodore - Lavenza - Sho Minazuki - Labrys |
| Locations | |
| Port Island | Velvet Room - Tartarus - Gekkoukan High School - Paulownia Mall - Iwatodai Station - Port Island Station - Naganaki Shrine - Iwatodai Dormitory - Moonlight Bridge |
| Music | |
| Songs | Our Moment - Moonlight Serendipity |
| Albums | Persona Dancing P3D & P5D Soundtrack Advanced CD |
| Archive | |
| Lists | Social - List of Patches and Updates - Trophies |
| Corporate | Atlus Co., Ltd. |
| Personnel | Kazuhisa Wada - Shigenori Soejima - Ryota Kozuka - Shoji Meguro Toshiki Konishi - Atsushi Kitajoh |