"I feel like I've been a fake all this time... But, I will become the true Gourmet King one day! I will become a food critic. It will be my job to eat... And I will master it! Then, once I die and go to the afterlife, I can face my brother... And he'll be impressed by the fact that I was able to master something, all by myself!"
Nozomi Suemitsu is a non-player character from Persona 3. A third-year student at Gekkoukan High School, he goes by "Gourmet King."
Appearances[]
- Persona 3 / FES / Portable (M) / Reload: Supporting Character; Moon Social Link
- Persona 3 Portable (F): Minor Character
- Persona 3 Manga: Supporting Character; Moon Arcana
- Persona 3 The Movie: Cameo
Design[]
Nozomi is an obese boy with unkempt black hair and gray eyes. He wears the white button-up shirt, black ribbon and black pants of the school's uniform, even outside of the school. During his Social Link with the protagonist, Nozomi mentions that he wears the school's uniform outside of school as well because it's the only clothing he has that fits him.
Personality[]
Nozomi is extremely obsessed with food, often doing nothing but eating as a pastime. He avoids unpleasant feelings by constantly over indulging in eating. Sometimes these feelings manifest physically as indigestion and aggression.
Although Nozomi is initially afraid of being seen as the "uncool one" compared to the protagonist, he easily warms up to him when he believes they "think the same way." Nozomi sees a resemblance to his younger brother in the protagonist, and sometimes projects his unresolved feelings of inferiority on to him. He later assumes the protagonist is embarrassed to be seen with him. He masks these feelings of inferiority by acting haughty and demanding, and by flaunting his knowledge on unique foods and places to eat. His superiority act borders on delusions of grandeur at times, such as when he claims to defend the title of "Gourmet King" from a nebulous "they." It seems he may have given himself this nickname.
However, he does try to keep his composure, as he can be polite and apologetic whenever he is rude or recognizes he is projecting. He also displays some kindness when teaching the protagonist about secret menus and how to make the most of each dish, usually with delicious.results.
Nozomi later gains confidence when he fends off the father of a boy he scammed out of his money, albeit through lies and absurd claims. While this confidence makes him more outgoing and closer to the protagonist, it also spurred him down his path of fanaticism.
Once the protagonist challenges Nozomi's beliefs and make him doubt his actions, Nozomi is forced to reckon between his faith and his loyalty to the protagonist. He actively tries to maintain their relationship, even going so far as to apologize to God for him and refusing to eat as repentance. He also respects the protagonists decision not to join the cult, despite facing pressure to hit a recruiting quota. He is eventually forced to cut ties with the protagonist because the protagonist tells him his faith is a scam.
After being tricked by the father of the boy he took money from, he is nearly assaulted by two punks in a back alley. Thinking he'll die, he realizes that he's been manipulated by not only his own feelings of inferiority, but by the cult itself which preyed upon his vulnerability. He also realized that the protagonist was always there for him, and appreciates him saving him despite how poorly he treated him. In the end he is free from his delusions as well as his insecurity, and uses his new found confidence to pursue his own passions and forgive himself for who he used to be.
Profile[]
Persona 3[]
- Main article: Social Link/Nozomi Suemitsu
The protagonist meets Nozomi after hearing a rumor about a food connoisseur who lurks around Paulownia Mall from Kenji Tomochika after the Magician Social Link reaches Rank 3. Nozomi can be found sitting in front of the central fountain in the mall, usually eating a sandwich. The protagonist cannot speak to him unless his Charm is high enough to distract Nozomi from his sandwich. Nozomi refuses to associate with the protagonist until he can answer questions about food and then bring him food he has never eaten. This food is either an Odd Morsel or Rancid Gravy from Tartarus. He finds it disgusting, but still something he's never eaten.
Nozomi is extremely obsessed with food, often doing nothing but eating as a pastime. He claims to be nicknamed "the Gourmet King." During the trip to Kyoto, he eats several bags of Kyoto specific snacks, since he can't eat them all that often. He also explains that a "true gourmand" could never wear a yukata, since they would constantly be loosening the obi due to the expansion of their stomach, which would eventually result in the yukata falling off, leaving them in the nude.
At first, though Nozomi is afraid of being seen as the "uncool one" while standing next to the protagonist, he does permit him to be his supporter. Eventually, Nozomi, who is a senior, jokes the protagonist should be his honorary "little brother." He later says that if the protagonist really were his brother "it wouldn't be possible" to be his equal as a gourmand. Most of the time, Nozomi talks about food he's eating, foods he's eaten, and foods he's going to eat, and he explains how to best enjoy food. However, it is revealed he recently scammed a boy out of his tutoring money. When confronted by the boys father, called the middle-aged man, Nozomi lies and makes absurd claims about a "paradise." He rambles on about how the man won't get in just like his younger brother won't. Eventually the man gives up, and Nozomi gains some confidence from the interaction.
Nozomi becomes more comfortable with the protagonist as they go out to eat together, but he also seems stressed about being "one person short" of his 10 person goal. He then shares that he is part of a cult that believes in creating a paradise for believers after the world ends. He joined so that he could be reborn into a perfect body. While he wants to keep it a secret, he also wants the protagonist to join him, not as a supporter, but as his friend that he cares about. He then asks for 132,000 yen to pay for the scriptures and products on Salvation, but would waive the initiation fee. When the protagonist refuses, it makes him angry and he flees. With time, Nozomi seems to respect his decision and seeks to hit his recruitment quota elsewhere. He also apologized to God for him and is repenting by refusing to eat. He assumes the protagonist is uninterested in joining the cult because he's too embarrassed to be seen with him. He asks him not to abandon him before running off. After parting ways, the protagonist overhears the middle-aged man who threatened Nozomi earlier hiring two punks to make sure "it gets done." The man then notices the protagonist and warns him to stay away from Nozomi, and asks if he tried to scam him for 132, 000 yen as well.
Eventually, Nozomi comes to the protagonist excited about inviting two others to his cult. The protagonist, recognizing the pattern of behavior, tells Nozomi to stop recruiting for the cult which causes Nozomi to break off their friendship. He lashes out at the protagonist claiming he couldn't understand the suffering of others because he was good-looking and had everything handed to him.
Nozomi takes the two recruits to become worshippers, but is cornered in the back alley near the Velvet Room. The recruits are actually the two punks hired by the middle-aged man. That man's son was scammed by Nozomi, who told the son that he could go to paradise. They intend to beat Nozomi to get the money back. The protagonist, having recognized the men in advance, arrives in time to save Nozomi, who breaks down and begins crying and apologizing thinking he's going to die. The hired goons decide it's to much trouble for them and leave. The middle-aged man gives up on the money, but warns him to stay away from his son. Nozomi's faith is shaken and he realizes the error of his ways.
Later, Nozomi tells the protagonist the whole story while eating at Hagakure. He and his brother were fraternal twins, so they were constantly compared to each other. Nozomi felt inferior, since he was fat, sloppy, and lazy, while his brother was athletic, hard-working and good looking. The two of them always enjoyed eating out together, until his brother tragically died from food poisoning in eighth grade. Nozomi felt that this was a sign that he would be liberated and would no longer have to compete with his brother. He emulated his brother, with the hope of finding his own special talent. However he still wasn't as good as he was, and felt like everyone was laughing at him for being the fat kid whose only talent was eating. He then used eating as a coping mechanism to suppress these thoughts.
Through his interaction with the protagonist, Nozomi realizes and decides to be his own person and forgive himself for initially being happy about his brothers death. He passes his title onto the protagonist, making him "Gourmet King The 2nd." He decides to become a food critic to honestly earn the title and to make his brother proud. On the day before graduation, the protagonist can meet a reporter interviewing the cook from Hagakure and a barista from Chagall Café. They both praise Nozomi's knowledge of food and his recommendation of the cafe. It is revealed that Nozomi created the Hagakure secret menu item. They both admire Nozomi, and reveal that he will soon be releasing a book on food.
Persona 3 Portable[]
In Persona 3 Portable, if the player chooses to play as the female protagonist, the Moon Arcana Social Link is replaced by Shinjiro Aragaki.
Persona 3 The Movie[]
Spring of Birth[]
In the movie, he makes a brief appearance inside Wild-Duck Burger.
Midsummer's Knight Dream[]
He makes another appearance, where he is seen hanging out with Makoto at Hagakure.
Social Link[]
- Main article: Social Link/Nozomi Suemitsu
Nozomi is the Moon Arcana Social Link. He appears at Paulownia Mall every weekday. In the enhanced version of the game featured in Persona 3 FES, he is also available on weekends, holidays, and during the week before exams.
Completing this Social Link will cause Nozomi to hand over the "Gourmet License" which will allow the protagonist to fuse Sandalphon, the ultimate Moon Persona.
Gallery[]
.png "Nozomi Suemitsu (Summer School Uniform).png (619 KB)")
In Other Languages[]
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
 Japanese
|
末光 望美 (Suemitsu Nozomi) |
 Korean
|
스에미츠 노조미 (Seuemicheu Nojomi) |
Etymology[]
- The name Nozomi means "wish, desire, hope" (望) (nozo) and "beautiful" (美) (mi).
- Nozomi's surname Suemitsu means "end, close, tip, powder, posterity" (末) (sue) and "light" (光) (mitsu).
Trivia[]
- At rank 2 of his Social Link, Nozomi does the moonwalk, which may be a play on how he represents the Moon arcana.
- At rank 9 of his Social Link, the protagonist is given only dialogue choices that will reverse his Social Link. However, if it is reversed this way, it will be rectified that night. This makes it the only Social Link to ever force a reverse on the protagonist as a part of its progress.