"True freedom lies within the constructs of society."
—Shujin Academy, Persona 5
Shujin Academy, known in the Japanese version as Shujin High School (秀尽学園高校, Shūjin Gakuen Kōkō)?, is one of the main settings of Persona 5. It is an elite prep school located in Aoyama-Itchome neighborhood in Tokyo.
Shujin Academy is the school which the protagonist and his friends attend. It is the only school which accepted the protagonist. The three-floored building is split between the main campus and the practical building. A large gymnasium also serves as an assembly hall. The floors indicate years in reverse: first year classes are on the third floor, while third years on the first. The locked rooftop serves as the initial hideout for the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
The first floor has a co-op selling bread and three vending machines; one near the co-op and two at the practical building. The second floor houses the faculty room, the principal's office and meeting room. The third floor is where the student council room, the library and the stairway to the rooftop are located.
It is revealed that Shujin Academy is the location of one Palace: Kamoshida's Palace. The school is a castle belonging to Suguru Kamoshida in the Metaverse, where Kamoshida emotionally, physically and sexually abuses the students.
Shujin Academy cannot be freely visited past November 18 (The deadline for sending the calling card to Sae) due to the protagonist covering himself up with a fake death, although the player is given one last chance to visit it in December 22. He can still freely access Confidants that are found at the school during this time.
The school's name is a homophone of the Japanese word for prisoner, shūjin (囚人). However, the school's name is written with completely different characters, making it merely an oral pun. This was confirmed as a deliberate choice by Katsura Hashino in 2015.[1]
The logo also ties into the prison themes. It resembles a police badge, as if the students are forced to submit and abide by the law. It contains a section sign (§) which references legal code and judicial system. The same symbol is the necklace of Sae Niijima.
Unlike Gekkoukan High School and Yasogami High School where the protagonist can make social links with many students in their schools, the only non-party student Confidant that the protagonist can make in Shujin Academy is Yuuki Mishima, due to most students distancing from him because of his criminal record.
After school, the protagonist can draw the Phantom Thieves of Hearts logo on the blackboard of his class. If he does so, depending on the game's progress, the reception by the students will be different. The responses start out with doubts at early game, then positive at mid-game, and finally end with negative responses at the endgame.
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