"I won't ask you to work for free. If you agree to help me, then... I'll teach you how to make the perfect cup of coffee."
Sojiro Sakura is a character from Persona 5.
Appearances
- Persona 5: Supporting Character; Hierophant Confidant
- Persona 5 (Manga): Supporting Character
- Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers: Mentioned by Ann Takamaki
Design
Sojiro is a middle-aged man. He has slicked-back dark hair with a receding hairline, a chinstrap beard with a goatee that flares out, and wears glasses.
He wears a pink dress shirt that goes up to his elbows, a black striped apron with white vertical lines and two buttons at the top, khaki capris, and white shoes.
Profile
Persona 5
Sojiro is a former government official who was in contact with the research center Wakaba Isshiki worked for. After Wakaba died in traffic incident, Sojiro took in Wakaba's daughter Futaba. He became partiularly concerned with Futaba's safety and avoid anyone from approaching her because Wakaba sent him an SOS message just before the fatal incident. To hide from Wakaba's potential enemies, Sojiro left his job and became owner of Cafe Leblanc.
He is the protagonist's parents' friend who promised to look after him. He warns the protagonist not to get into trouble with the privileged class and drag other people into the mess. When being asked privately by Yusuke Kitagawa the actual reason he takes the protagonist in, he confesses that he sees his younger self in the protagonist.
Sojiro was initially unaware nor interested in Phantom Thieves of Hearts' heists until Futaba becomes involved. He is asked by a public prosecutor, Sae Niijima, regarding Futaba as she is trying to investigate about Wakaba. Sojiro refuses to answer any of her questions including letting her meet Futaba until she threatens to remove his custody's right over Futaba. The protagonist, who received a request from Futaba under an alias tries to ask Sojiro about her as well, but Sojiro also refuses to tell anything and tells him to concentrate on school. However, Sojiro eventually tells him and his friends about Futaba when they went to his house where they caught a glimpse of Futaba living there.
After Futaba's heart is stolen, Futaba starts to frequently go outside, which surprises Sojiro. Hearing if the Phantom Thieves' ability to steal ill intents from people's hearts, Sojiro has suspicions that Futaba's sudden change is the Thieves' doing. After Kunikazu Okumura's death, he accidentally finds the Phantom Thieves' calling card for Futaba that she keeps as a remembrance while cleaning her room. He questions Futaba and the protagonist about this, giving the two no choice but to explain what truly happened to Futaba's mother.
Sojiro only thought that the protagonist has a connection with the Phantom Thieves and got Futaba involved, but Futaba's slip makes him realize that the protagonist is in fact the ringleader of the Phantom Thieves himself. Sojiro then reveals the truth about his past and how he had realized that the Thieves' methods have similarity with details of Wakaba's research. Hearing Futaba's wish of wanting to find her mother's killer, Sojiro immediately rejects the idea. However, after seeing how determined both Futaba and the protagonist are, Sojiro promises to keep their secret and allows them to continue their activities under the condition that if it gets too dangerous, they must stop becoming the Phantom Thieves.
Following the protagonist's arrest, Sae, under Futaba's instruction, helps the protagonist escape after he fakes his death and brings him to Leblanc, telling Sojiro to hide the protagonist for a while. Despite not knowing the full story, Sojiro did as he was told, hiding him for a while. He then brings the protagonist back to Leblanc where Sae and his friends are waiting. After hearing the full story, Sojiro shows his support by allowing the Phantom Thieves to discuss their plan downstairs instead in the protagonist's room upstairs. When the Thieves realize that a man named "Shido" is the leader of Conspiracy, Sojiro immediately realizes that it is Masayoshi Shido. He also reveals how he had suspected Shido being behind Wakaba's death and how he had kept it as a secret to prevent the Thieves from going after him.
When the Thieves hijack the airwaves to announce their plan to steal Shido's heart instead of using a calling card, Shido's subordinates arrest Sojiro, knowing that he knows the identity of the Thieves. However, he is released immediately after Shido's treasure has been stolen.
Confidant
"You may call yourself a phantom thief, but you're still a minor. Someone had to support you. Furthermore, they did so knowing you were part of that group... ...Isn't the owner of that cafe an accomplice of yours!?"
Sojiro's Confidant can be unlocked on April 22nd. Ranking it up allows him to teach the protagonist about Leblanc signature coffee and curry recipes which can be used as SP recovery items in dungeon. Making coffee or curry consumes a night section of the player's activity time, but this can be spared if the player's Confidant relationship with Sadayo Kawakami is high enough to call her to handle the job in place of the protagonist by paying 5,000 yen each time.
The item received by maxing Sojiro's Confidant is a "recipe note", which can make all sorts of coffee and curry.
| Rank | Ability | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Coffee Basics | Allows you to make coffee which slightly restores SP to one ally. |
| 4 | Leblanc Curry | Allows you to make curry that slightly restores SP to all allies. |
| 6 | Coffee Mastery | Allows you to make coffee which greatly restores SP to one ally. |
| 9 | Curry Tips | Allows you to make curry that moderately restores SP to all allies. |
| 10 | Curry Mastery | Allows you to make curry that greatly restores SP to all allies. |
Gallery
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Art.
Sojiro after Valentine's Day.
Sojoro appears in the manga adaption.
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Sojiro Sakura's portrait
Sojiro's casual attire
Sojiro's casual attire with hat.
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Trivia
- Sojiro's name may be inspired by Sakura Sōgorō, the legendary village head during Edo period who appealed directly to shogun for tax reduction for his villagers but ended up being executed for this very action.
- Sojiro refuses to save any male's phone number and would dial the public phone of Cafe Leblanc to call the protagonist.
- His design is very reminiscent of Daisuke Jigen, the confidant of Arsene Lupin III, the thief protagonist of the long-running Lupin III media franchise.