The Metaverse Navigator phone icon.
Metaverse Navigator (イセカイナビ, Isekainabi)?, MetaNav for short, is a mysterious phone application in Persona 5. It is a key concept to its story.
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Appearances[edit | edit source]
Profile[edit | edit source]
Persona 5[edit | edit source]
The Metaverse Navigator app is bestowed upon the protagonist by Igor to allow him and his allies to access the other world known as the Metaverse. By using the app on their P. A. D., the protagonist and the Phantom Thieves of Hearts can discover the location of their targets and can infiltrate both Mementos and Palaces to steal the hearts of individuals with distorted desires, which are the "corrupt people." To infiltrate a Palace, three keywords are needed: a target's name, their location and the form of the distortion in their hearts (specifically, how the Palace owner sees the world around them) and sometimes the concept behind it. In the case of Mementos, only the keyword "Mementos" is needed. When the Metaverse Navigator is activated, it displays a red and black ripple animation effect.
Igor is said to bestow the app to anyone the protagonist wishes to aid him in his rehabilitation. However, the app is known to pull unsuspecting people into the Metaverse as well if they are standing near and observing an app-user as the Navigator is being activated (implying that it functions with an area of effect). People who are taken into the Metaverse appear to automatically receive the Navigator as well. Additionally, as was the case with Futaba Sakura, the application may also install itself onto the devices of people nearby, without sending those people into the Metaverse. The app appears to be impossible to delete, as Igor will simply resend the app to the users' phones.
As "Igor" turns out to actually be Yaldabaoth, it can be interpreted that he bestows the app to anyone that he deems worthy to assist the protagonist to carry out his plans to remove those who cause discord so he can control Tokyo and possibly the world. After his defeat and the destruction of Mementos, the app is permanently deleted.
During the third semester in Persona 5 Royal, the app continues to remain. However, due to the dream world, the app has become a white and dark blue color instead of the usual red and black, and the pupil on the eye becomes the same logo seen frequently during Maruki's Palace. When Takuto Maruki is defeated, the app is deleted once again.
Keywords[edit | edit source]
| Name | Location | Concept | Distortion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suguru Kamoshida | Shujin Academy | Pervert | Castle |
| Ichiryusai Madarame | Shack | Plagiarist | Museum |
| Junya Kaneshiro | All of Shibuya | N/A | Bank |
| Futaba Sakura | Sojiro Sakura's House | N/A | Tomb |
| Kunikazu Okumura | Okumura Foods Corporate HQ | N/A | Outer Space |
| Sae Niijima | Courthouse | N/A | Casino |
| Masayoshi Shido | Diet Building | N/A | Ship |
| Mementos | |||
| Takuto Maruki | Odaiba Stadium construction site | N/A | Laboratory |
Persona 5 Strikers[edit | edit source]
The Metaverse Navigator is secretly lodged within the EMMA application, with the intent of luring innocent bystanders inside Jails to have their hearts changed. The Monarchs in the game capitalize on this design in order to gain uncanny amounts of followers by giving out their Friend Passwords to the public. In reality, that Password is actually the Metaverse Navigator keyword, and simply by inputting it triggers the MetaNav, trapping the victim's Shadow in the Metaverse. Once there, Shadows will mercilessly attack them and extract their desires directly from them (taking the form of gems). The victims undergo a Change of Heart and become mesmerized worshipers of the King, causing insanity, property loss or even violent incidents. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts use this Metaverse Navigator from EMMA in order to enter the Jails and perform an actual change of Heart on the King, so the desires can be freed.
Unlike Palaces, removing a King from a Jail does not destroy it. Instead, it stays and might still become a hazard against the public. This is because the Jails are not isolated areas, they are all a part of EMMA and are ruled by it.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Trivia[edit | edit source]
- The Metaverse Navigator icon resembles a mix between the Eye of Horus and the All-Seeing Eye, which are occult symbols commonly mentioned in conspiracy theories. The pupil on the eye is the pentagram star, another symbol commonly associated with the occult.
- Morgana is the only member of the Phantom Thieves who can access the Metaverse without the use of the app due to his origins being tied with it. However, much of the same rules apply to him as they do to those who use the Navigator.
- In the anime adaptation, it appears that just looking at the app icon can force a user to fall asleep and enter the Velvet Room should Igor wish to talk.
- The application is voiced by Tomoko Fujino in the Persona 5 The Animation, in the actual game, it is uncredited.
