AnonymousI’m assuming Persona 4 since that’s the one I spaz out about the most?
1. The first character I first fell in love with
I love ALL of them, but the one that I spazzed about the hardest was Kanji. Just… his character, his shadow, all of that… not only did I love him, he impressed me so much with his “girls are scary and judgmental men are better,” speech. I mean, boys who do “girly” things are judged so quickly, probably harsher than girls who do “boy” things. You see a little boy grabbing a doll and you see people freak out – not just men, but women. We fight so hard for girls to be able to do as they please that we forget that boys get criticized too. There’s expectations for boys that not all of them want to take on, and I think Kanji does a good job in showing that. Him being a thug? He’s scary, yeah, but that’s much easier to understand than him sewing. Then there’s the whole sexuality aspect. Is he gay? Straight? Does it matter? Does he even know? I think people forget how much happens in high school, the things that get questioned, how unsure kids are. When things like sexuality come up it’s, “You’re too young,” but honestly… not really. The teenage years are when things like this come up. Was his shadow just representing his opinions on girls, or his actual preferences? He crushes on Naoto before AND after her big reveal, so… who knows. I think in the end he accepts her no matter what, and I think that was the point.
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now
Yosuke. I mean I liked him well enough, but I fell in love with how real he felt as a character. He’s so teenage boy! And he tries so hard to be a good person, I just… gyah!
Also, I’d have to say Naoto. I thought she was cool before, her shadow made me love her more, but just… my love for Naoto is so strong, I just can’t…
3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t
Um… I like all of them so…
4. The character I love that everyone else hates
I think everyone has reasons to not like someone in the cast for whatever reason. I think the most hate I’ve seen is towards Yosuke cuz “OMG SO HOMOPHOBIC.” I will never, EVER understand that reasoning. Yes he makes comments, but he’s what… 16? And he tends to always say things that piss people off. It’s great that people want everyone to be understanding about people’s issues, but I think they forget that these characters are human. I wasn’t always understanding when it came to gender/sexuality and things like that, that developed over time, and you can see that as the game progresses a friendship grows between ALL OF THEM, this includes Yosuke and Kanji too.
I also feel like Rise gets a lot of hate because “omg such a slut,” and just… did we play the same game? Cuz um… I mean… she was trying to break out of the stereotype that had been established for her because of her celebrity status and… well, I mean… I think that goes beyond being a celebrity, just… being the “cute girl” or the “popular girl” seems to make people assume things that aren’t true.
And I have to mention Yu Narukami. There was a bunch of “OMG THAT’S NOT HIS NAME” and “He’ll always be Souji to me cry cry” when the anime came out, but I think the anime did a good job making him into his own character. He was very likable, and it was cool to see him develop from that kinda quiet guy in episode 1 to being someone that others could rely on, AND someone who really cared for his friends and family, and needed them as much as they needed him. I really liked that. I think the anime did a good job taking a character whose personality depended on the player and making him unique.
5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer
There’s no such thing…
6. The character I would totally smooch
I’d just throw the names of the Investigation Team in a hat and pick one.
7. The character I’d want to be like
In general, I’d just want to be able to live the message of “accepting yourself.” I really wish a game like this would’ve been around when I was in high school so I could realize that there’s nothing wrong with being who you are. It’s such a great take home message.
8. The character I’d slap
Adachi, because… you know, Adachi. But I think he’s an interesting character, too. I don’t hate him, he makes a good villain – well, more like “morally ambiguous character.”
9. A pairing that I love
Kanji and Naoto. Hands down. Kanji and Naoto. I also love Souji (or Yu) and Yosuke, and Chie and Yukiko, and the underclassman OT3 (Kanji, Rise, Naoto) and Dojima and Adachi, and… the list goes on so let’s just stick with Kanji and Naoto.
10. A pairing that I despise
Honestly? Not a single one. I guess the only thing that I can’t see myself writing or reading is things with Teddie (because to me he’s like a six year old) or things with Nanako (again, because she’s a kid). Granted, I could pair these two together when they’re older, or like a cute conversation or hug or something but… yeah, that’s about it.
