President Tanaka is the president of a mega-corp company, and a recurring character in the Persona series.
Appearances[]
- Persona 3 / FES / Portable / Reload: Shopping Network Host; Devil Social Link
- Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight: Accessory (mask)
- Persona 4 / Golden: Shopping Network Host
- Persona 4 The Animation: Cameo
- Persona 4: Dancing All Night
- Persona 5 / Royal: Tanaka's Shady Commodities Host (Online)
- Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight: Accessory (mask)
Design[]
His appearance is of a middle-aged man with dark gray hair and gray eyes. He wears a gray suit and a faded dark red tie. Two years later in Persona 4, he wears a dark gray blue suit and a yellow tie. In Persona 4 The Animation, he has brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wears a dark navy suit with a red and yellow stripe tie. In Persona 5, he wears a black suit and a red and white tie along with a set of dark shades on his eyes.
Profile[]
He is known to be a successful and cunning businessman. Tanaka also hosts his own home shopping show, "Tanaka's Amazing Commodities," which shows every Sunday morning. He is also known as TV Tanaka.
Persona 3[]
- Main article: Social Link/President Tanaka
If the protagonist's Charm is high enough, he asks them to be a model for his products. He then swindles the protagonist out of a large sum of money. However, when he sees that the protagonist is unaware they're being taken advantage of, Tanaka takes them under his wing and begins to teach him about business. The protagonist would then create the Devil Arcana Social Link.
Tanaka, with a passion for making money and a lack of business ethics, teaches the protagonist questionable sales tactics. It is implied that Tanaka's materialism may stem from his childhood, coming from a poor family and being constantly looked down upon by his peers. Because of his experience with the media, Tanaka is actively paranoid of public backlash and is masking his true self. Through his interactions with the protagonist, Tanaka develops a moral compass that strays away from the wastefulness of raw charity or greed, establishing a sense of loyalty.
Tanaka later takes an interest in a female colleague who enjoys doing charity work. He chastises her, but eventually realizes that what he truly loves isn't making money, but educating others so they can be successful. At the end of the Social Link, Tanaka makes a large donation to an orphanage, calling it an "investment" for his future, as he would benefit from those he has helped. This helps Tanaka find peace in helping others, indirectly displaying gratitude for the protagonist.[1] Tanaka also cancels the protagonist's exclusive modeling contract and lets them go, which was likely a scam based on the time frame, explaining that they shouldn't "hang around middle-aged men like him and find what truly makes them happy." He gives them a Thank-you Letter from the orphanage, unlocking Beelzebub for fusion.
Persona 3 Fes-The Journey - Devil Ending(Tanaka)
Tanaka on TV in Persona 3 FES.
In the expanded re-release Persona 3 FES, at the end of the game in March, Tanaka is shown hounded by dozens of interviewers lambasting him for an unaccounted expenditure (which is actually his donation from before,) demanding an explanation. Tanaka instead tricks the interviewers, using the interview to advertise his products. On a separate fax, Tanaka also mentions that he has nothing to the be ashamed of, implying that he's turned to socially responsible business methods.
As mentioned above, the protagonist can also tune in to "Tanaka's Amazing Commodities" on TV on Sunday mornings, where Tanaka advertises his products.
Persona 4[]
Tanaka returns as a minor character in Persona 4, however, he is not represented by any Social Link. He returns as the host of "Tanaka's Amazing Commodities," where the protagonist can purchase his products every Sunday morning. When the fog begins to thicken towards the end of the game, Tanaka uses the fog scare to his advantage and sells only gas masks until a certain story-related event is completed.
The Animation[]
In the anime on August 18th, he is seen on television selling a fishing rod and a fishing vest.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night[]
Tanaka shows up in previews for the game, where he mentions the DLC and Persona 5 extended preview disc that comes with the game. Tanaka is in charge of selling costumes, accessories, and songs.
Persona 5[]
Tanaka now operates online shopping through "Tanaka's Shady Commodities," which allows the protagonist to purchase his products by ordering online. He needs to purchase a broken laptop in a shop outside Café Leblanc in Yongen-Jaya and a PC tool set in the Machine Part Shop at Akihabara. Tanaka's shop is accessible once the broken laptop has been fixed in the protagonist's room. While repairing the laptop will consume a time slot, the protagonist can freely access the shop afterwards without causing time to pass.
The product lists can vary, depending on the date and customer rank. The protagonist's rank advances to Black after spending a total of 10,000 yen, then to Dark after 50,000 yen, and maxes out at Chaos after 100,000 yen. Available items range from powerful accessories, clothing whose identity can only be revealed after a wash at the laundromat, and transmutable equipment for itemization. Purchases take several days to arrive at Leblanc, and no new orders can be placed until the previous one arrives.
Gallery[]
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In Other Languages[]
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
 English
|
President Tanaka |
 Japanese
|
社長・たなか (Shachō Tanaka) |
 Korean
|
타나카 사장 (Tanaka Sajang) |
Trivia[]
- In the ending scene for the Devil Social Link in Persona 3, the protagonist watches TV and sees a commentator state that Tanaka is obsessed with money. The man says that "he'd slit his mama's throat for a five-yen piece," which is most likely a reference to a popular quote from Final Fantasy VI, when Edgar, talking about Shadow, says "he'd slit his mama's throat for a nickel!"
- In P3 FES, starting Tanaka's Social Link on 1/31 will allow the player to completely skip the game's final battles and lead directly to the true ending.[2]
References[]
- ↑
"This idea probably would not have occurred to me if it wasn't for our conversations... By talking to you, I seem to have developed an interest in watching others mature... I thank you for that. Actually, I should be thanking myself... for wisely noticing this."
—President Tanaka, Persona 3">Despite his self-flattery, you sense President Tanaka's true appreciation."
- ↑ Persona 3 FES Nyx Skip Youtube.com (N Markro; April 15, 2018)
| Characters | |
| Playable | Rise Kujikawa - Yu Narukami - Kanami Mashita - Yosuke Hanamura - Chie Satonaka - Kanji Tatsumi - Teddie - Yukiko Amagi - Naoto Shirogane - Nanako Dojima - Margaret - Marie - Tohru Adachi - Hatsune Miku |
| Non-playable | Protagonist - Ryotaro Dojima - Minoru Inoue - Sumomo Ujima - Tomoe Sayama - Tamami Uesugi - Nozomi Nakahara - Kyoka Ochimizu - Dance Instructor - Yuko Osada - Mikuratana-no-Kami - President Tanaka |
| Locations | |
| Other | Velvet Room - Yomotsu Hirasaka - Takura Productions - Inaba - Midnight Channel |
| Midnight Stage | Kujikawa Rise (Stage) - Circus Tent - Sultry Lounge - Doll House - Romantic Castle - Mechanical Castle - Event Space - Mikuratana-no-Kami's Realm |
| Music | |
| Albums | Persona 4: Dancing All Night Original Soundtrack |
| Songs | Dance! - Calystegia |
| Archive | |
| Terminology | Persona - Persona User - Shadow - Kanamin Kitchen - LMB Festival - Shadow Self - Investigation Team - Apathy Syndrome |
| Lists | Trophies |